Beautiful Madness
by Sandrine C
Summary: Damon loses someone important in his life and deals with his grief by going back to the one person he thinks started it all-Katherine.  D/E, post 2x11
1. Chapter 1

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

Damon drunkenly stumbled into the darkness, feeling his way back to the familiar tomb that he once thought held all the answers. The faint moonlight cast shadows on his face, not at all different from the ones that haunted his mind. The dark liquid in the bottle he held in his grip sloshed unsteadily as he stumbled, the little that was left of it anyway. He pitched forward, barely catching himself in time, his hand shooting out towards the wall sharply. The jagged surface cut into this skin but he couldn't feel it, he simply watched as dark blood trickled down his arm towards the ground. He stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity until he suddenly snapped, a low growl erupting from his throat that transformed into a howl.

"Katherine!" Damon yelled into the night, "Katherine! Where the hell are you? Katherine! Show yourself!"

"Calm down, Damon," Katherine said from the shadows, only half her face illuminated but enough of it shown through the darkness to show her amusement as she leaned against the wall, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company on a night like this?"

"You..." Damon said full of contempt as he faced her, losing his balance a little as he turned to her, taking a few steps towards Katherine, "This, all of this, is _your_ fault. Every last thing. I blame you."

"Don't flatter me too much, Damon. I think I'm blushing," Katherine said mocking him, finding his misery entertaining, "But color me curious, why in the world are you in such a state? Did you kiss the wrong girl again or something? Don't worry, I'm sure one day you'll get luck and you'll finally get to kiss Elena."

With that, Damon sent the liquor sailing through the air, the bottle smashing loudly an inch from Katherine's head. She barely flinched as she picked up a stray piece of glass and flicked it back towards him, "Alright, so I'm clearly not forgiven for that little incident. If it's any consolation, I think that Elena really does believe you're someone worth saving. Bravo for getting that right. But I don't think that little kiss we shared is what's gotten you in this state tonight."

"It's your fault," Damon said his words a bit slurred as he repeated them, the hopelessness coming off him in waves.

"Be specific, Damon," Katherine snapped, "I have a long list of crimes I can take credit for and I'm not in the mood to guess. What the hell are you talking about, Damon?"

"Rose is dead," Damon whispered, sinking to the ground on his knees, "She's dead."

"Rose?" Katherine said frowning for a moment before recognition dawned, "Oh, that Rose….the one with the 'friend' who was in love with _me_. Trevor, wasn't it? Dead. Both of them, I assume? Hmm, well I must say that I didn't expect her to last into this century but what's more shocking is that _you_ care and that you're letting yourself _feel_ it."

"She's dead. She's dead. She's dead." Damon said over and over, his eyes blank, completely ignoring Katherine for the moment, letting the words sink in.

Katherine rolled her eyes, "Get over it. In the grand scheme of things, Rose is at best insignificant. You're overreacting, Damon. Reserve the theatrics for Elena's death. It shouldn't be too long from now."

Damon's head snapped in attention the second he heard Elena's name, his blue eyes blazing with contempt, causing Katherine to smirk.

"Ah, the magic word has gotten your attention. I see you're still so smitten and totally gone on the doppelganger. How is she doing, by the way? How does she like her new purpose in life as Elijah's bait? I bet she misses when I was the only one tormenting her. Give my regards to her, Damon. Tell her I miss her too." Katherine said smiling sweetly, venom dripping from every word.

"Why…why did you pick Mystic Falls? Why did you force your way into our lives all those years ago?" Damon said in a broken voice, "If it was just Stefan that you loved all along, then why didn't you just leave me alone?"

Katherine straightened up, losing her own playfulness as she eyed Damon, the questions getting to her, "You never questioned it before."

"Well, I'm asking you now," Damon said standing up, locking eyes with her, "I need you to tell me why it had to take more than a century for you to set me up for heartbreak, why I had to go through more than a hundred years of this life and lose so much. For what, Katherine? There has to be some greater reason other than for your amusement because my existence needs to mean more than that."

"Because Stefan needed you," Katherine answered bluntly, "He wouldn't have survived this long if he didn't have you in some way. I knew I'd cause a rift between the two of you but in the end, I trusted you'd keep him alive. And I was right."

"And the best supporting actor goes to…_me._" Damon laughed bitterly, "That's all I am to everyone. The son who never lived up to expectations, the guy who never got the girl and the wannabe hero who always failed to save the victim. But hey, it's better than nothing right? At least, I'm in the story. At least, even if people around me are dropping like flies, I'm still standing. Hey, at least Elena knows I exist right? So thank _you_, Katherine, for turning me into the monster that lived long enough to find the girl I never even dreamed about, so I can watch her risk her life every single week. "

He took one step closer to the opening of the tomb where Katherine stood silently watching him, "I never thanked you enough for this undead life and the ability to compel Elena to forget I actually told her I love her. And you know what? I think soon enough I'll be able to thank you for the gift of being able to watch her die. Or maybe dying for her. One way or the other, I still need to be grateful to you for that right? And since I'm in the mood to share what's inside my head...you know what I feel right now? Like I'm waiting for the day I won't be able to protect her. I won't be able to save her. She's going to die, just like Rose. So thank you, for coming into my life and making sure I live to see that day."

Katherine stared straight into him, her eyes calculating and menacing as she breathed out her response, "You're welcome."

Damon's face contorted in inexplicable fury and all reason left him, consumed with the desire to rip her head from the rest of her body. He wanted to see Katherine bleed as if it was the only way to erase the image of death in his mind.

"Damon! No!" Elena's voice cutting through the haze with perfect clarity as Damon turned his head towards her, a puzzled look on his face.

His eyes traveled down to his arm where her hand rested, pulling him back with whatever force she could muster, "Damon, come on. Don't do this. You'll be stuck in there and then what? I might not be able to get you out. Damon. _Please. Enough._"

"Party pooper," Katherine said to Elena, "And here I almost had someone to play with in this lovely tomb."

Elena glared at Katherine, her hand still on Damon's arm, gently easing him away from the tomb, "Come on, Damon. Let's go."

Damon's mind slowly began to process everything, all at once as Elena's hand anchored him to the present. He saw that he was only a few steps away from crossing the seal so he could fight Katherine. He saw the broken shards of the bottle he consumed determinedly hours ago. He saw Katherine whose very posture could not be trusted. And he saw Elena look at him, concerned and worried over at the state he was in. He saw her…and only her.

"Rose is dead." Damon said blankly, trying to shut off all his emotions, something he could do so easily before…before Elena wormed her way into his very consciousness…his heart.

"I know," Elena said nodding slowly, her arms slowly encircling him, "I know, Damon."

"It's Katherine's fault. She set all of this motion," Damon said weakly, standing still like a statue in ELena's arms, "She's a bitch."

"Don't we all know it," Katherine said sounding bored, "What else is new, Damon?"

"Shut up," Elena said sharply, her voice sure and commanding as she stepped away from Damon to face Katherine squarely, "You've done enough damage so just do everyone a favor and shut the hell up."

"Feisty," Katherine replied with a bemused expression on her face, "Runs in the family. Alright, have your moment with Damon. I won't even tell Stefan about it."

Elena ignored her and turned to Damon again, "Please, Damon. Let's go. You're not stable enough to be here…the last person you need to be around is Katherine when you're dealing with grief."

"And who should I be around, Elena? You?" Damon said a bittersweet smile on his face, "Believe me, Elena, it's easier to be around _her_ than _you_ right now."

"Why?" Elena asked genuinely surprised.

"You know why losing Rose hurt so much? She's a friend and it sucks that she's dead but it's more than that. Her death just reminded me how easy it is from someone to be gone just like that and she's a lot harder to kill than _you_, what with your fragile humanity. So it's easier to be around Katherine because she only reminds me of the century and a half or so that I've wasted on her. And that's easier to swallow than having to look at you and see everything I stand to lose but can never really hold in my hands. Loving you is a spectator sport, Elena, and I just don't know if I have it in me to see it through to the end." Damon said shaking his head before walking away, stumbling as he found his way out, leaving Elena shocked and unable to move.

"I take it this is the first time he used the word 'love' when it came to you," Katherine said casually, "Or at least the first time you can remember."

"What?" Elena said sharply, turning to Katherine, "What do you mean?"

"His tale to tell, not mine, sorry." Katherine said with a shrug, smiling at Elena.

"Whatever," Elena said shaking her head, "If there's even any good left in you, then please just stop tormenting, Damon. You've done enough damage. Just stop."

"Damage? Me?" Katherine said mockingly, "You're giving me too much credit, Elena. Besides, I can never hurt him the way you can. Sorry, the way you already _have_. I've known the boy for quite awhile now and for someone who's strung him along for a hundred years, take it from me, he's broken and it's all because of _you._"

Katherine opened her mouth to continue but only a strangled cry came out, her hands flying to her middle to grasp a wooden stake that Elena threw with surprising precision. Katherine pulled it out but was weakened nonetheless, "You missed. Stake through the heart kills the vampire—not through the stomach."

"Who said I was aiming to kill, Katherine?" Elena said, "Just stop trying to make things worse than they already are. Just stay in your prison and stay out of our lives."

"Damon loves you." Katherine rasped out before Elena walked away, desperate to pay forward the searing pain the wood caused in her body, knowing the words that would still Elena's heart, "He told you but he made you forget."

Elena turned around, her eyes full of sadness and resignation, instead of the shock that Katherine expected, "I'll just pretend I never heard you say it."

Katherine looked at her in surprise, her pain replaced by shock, "What game are you playing, Elena?"

Elena shook her head, "No games. He wants me to forget, so I'll play along. It's the least I can do."

"You love him," Katherine said simply, not a question but a statement of fact.

Elena could only give her a pained smile, as she shrugged, the only affirmation she could offer, "If only it were that simple….Goodbye, Katherine."

Katherine watched Elena walk away, listening for the footsteps to fade completely before she slid down to the floor, a smile spreading evilly on her lips, "Just as I had planned. Perfect. Just perfect, my sweet and innocent Damon."

* * *

**_A/N: A one-shot unless inspiration strikes and I figure out how far I can take this piece. In any case, I hope you enjoyed it!_**


	2. Chapter 2: Mirror, mirror on the wall

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 2: Mirror, mirror on the wall**

"Are you done?" Elena asked Damon softly from the doorway, looking around at what seemed like an endless assortment of empty liquor bottles.

Damon made a motion that was halfway between nodding and shaking his head, "Drinking? Doesn't work for me anymore, so yes, Elena, I'm done. She's dead. I can't bring her back, the end."

"How about you?" Damon asked sighing deeply, perfectly unmoving with his legs stretched out in front of him as he sat on the floor with his back on the foot of his bed.

"What about me?" Elena asked taking a seat beside him, clearing away the bottles that surrounded him.

"Are you done making deals now that Stefan is no longer stuck with the ever charming Katherine?" Damon said resting his head on her shoulder, a sigh escaping his lips he did, "Because I have a proposal for you. I think it was on drink number thirty-seven that I thought of it—should be good. It's a lucky number."

Elena nudged him with her shoulder, trying to get him to lift his head but Damon wouldn't budge. She sighed before making another half-hearted attempt and upon failing, she settled down comfortably, letting him lean on her a bit more, "I know I'll regret even asking but what do you have in mind, Damon?"

"My car, the open road, good music and a thousand miles away from this life," Damon said quietly, his eyes unfocused as he forced himself to imagine it and believe it was the answer to the mess he had in front of him, "We can take Stefan, if we have to, but I'm warning you he has absolutely no patience with car games and he's the type to keep asking 'are we there yet?'."

"I doubt that, but go on, what else…where will we go exactly?" Elena said playing along, a lump rising in her throat as she pictured herself in the passenger seat, singing along with the radio, wildly out of tune but laughing with him at anything and everything. The thought made desire burn within her to be that girl again in Atlanta, the one that left her problems behind and just _lived_.

"Does it matter?" Damon said, "You're running away not going on tour, Elena. We'll go where the road takes us as long as it's anywhere but here. Just us. We can forget."

"We can't keep running forever, Damon," Elena said gently, "One way or the other this will catch up with us and we'll just be back where we started. I'll still be the doppelganger and there will still be a long list of people who want me dead."

"Do you always have to rain on my parade?" Damon said narrowing his eyes, completely annoyed, "Just so you know, the glass can be half full sometimes, Elena. Walk in the sunshine. Sing in the rain. Be _happy._"

"And this is coming from someone who just finished excessive amounts of alcohol to drown his sorrows," Elena said rolling her eyes.

"Do you know that at one point last night, I actually wished I never met you?" Damon said with an empty smile on his face, ending the few seconds of silence that hung between them, "What if I died in 1864? Or what if I knew from the start that Katherine was never in the tomb and I'm still out there looking for her, still fully convinced that she's the love of my life."

"I had it all mapped out—where I'd look for her, where I imagined I'll find her, how it would be, Katherine won't be a heartless bitch. …and Stefan wouldn't even be in the picture. He'll just be that relative who sends postcards on special occasions." Damon continued, "The vampire version of happily ever after."

"And then," he said finally lifting his head to face her, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "you show up unannounced, looking ordinary as ever, and completely disappointed that I've been drinking. You come here and just one look at you made me realize I can't give you up….that even in jeans, sneakers and your patented look of concern and worry, you're more beautiful to me than Katherine ever was in my eyes."

"And you've just proven to me how drunk you still are," Elena said rolling her eyes as she pushed herself off the floor and stood up, extending a hand to Damon instinctively to help him stand up, "Fair is fair, Damon—you come and go as you please in _my_ bedroom so you really have no right of holding this visit against me. I just wanted to make sure you're okay…that you haven't done anything stupid."

Damon eyed her hand curiously for a few seconds before placing his hand in it, expecting her to pull back at the last second. He stood in front of her, their fingers still entwined as he looked into her eyes, "Accept the compliment—it has no strings attached, Elena. No hidden agendas, just something I thought you should know. I look at you and see everything that's worth holding on to in this life—that's it. I don't need you to say anything back—I already know I'm drop-dead gorgeous."

Elena pulled her hand out of his to slap him on the shoulder when she felt him pull her towards him, his arms encircling her as his chin rested on the top of her head, "Damon…?"

"Thank you, Elena," Damon said quietly.

"For what?" Elena asked, closing her eyes, forgetting everything but the feeling of his arms around her, living in the moment.

Damon released her and offered her a small smile, his eyes bright with his unsaid confession, "Nothing. It's nothing."

"How touching," Elijah interrupted from the doorway, clapping his hand in mock admiration as he maneuvered his way around the mess, "Really tugs at the heartstrings. Beautiful."

Damon's eyes darkened and immediately took a defensive stance in front of Elena, pushing her behind him to shield him from Elijah, "What the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Easy, Damon, we're on the same side now, haven't you heard?" Elijah said casually moving around the room as if he belonged there, examining various items that caught his eye, "In fact, it was your brother who let me in."

"What have you done with him? Where is Stefan?" Elena asked, her heart thudding in her chest rapidly as her worry increased.

"He's…around. I've asked him not to disturb us. Quite important that I talk to both of you alone," Elijah said serenely, "So Damon, where were we? Ah, yes, our dear Ms. Gilbert here has agreed to stay safe and whole in exchange for lifting the spell on the tomb so that Stefan can get out. And as a sign of good faith, I even made sure Katerina stayed inside."

"Great so all I have to do now is kill you and all my problems will be solved" Damon asked, preparing to launch himself at Elijah.

"No, I don't think so. The second I die, Katerina will be set free. Calm down, Damon, I just want to talk," Elijah said calmly, the words soothing Damon against his will, the shock barely registering as he realized that he was being compelled.

"Damon?" Elena said hesitantly as she felt the change in him and the suppressed indignation that tightly wound around him. She turned to Elijah as realization dawned on her, "That's how you're keeping Katherine, isn't it? You can compel vampires."

Elijah nodded with an amused smile, "Perceptive, Elena. But I still wouldn't advise returning to the tomb, it's a place of old magic and quite unpredictable."

"All right, you have my undivided attention…so _talk_," Damon said bitingly, refusing to back down, his anger intensifying every second he was under Elijah's compulsion.

"You truly are still _young_, aren't you, Damon, so much energy and anger," Elijah said, eyeing him with mild curiosity, "Anyway, to business. I find the werewolf situation a bit problematic. I want you to get rid of them. Think about it, you protect Elena and you avenge Rose's death."

"Easier said than done," Damon spat out, "I'm going to need more than that—what's in it for you?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with that, Damon. It will make sense in time," Elijah said evenly, a glint of steel flickering in his eyes as he spoke, "But the only thing you need to make sure of is that they die before the next full moon or before they even get wind of the fact that there's a doppelganger in this town, whichever comes sooner. Start with the youngest one…the Lockwood."

"No, Damon, don't!" Elena said alarmed, "We can trust Tyler, we just need to explain things to him…he won't hurt anyone. Please, don't."

"You can't trust a wolf!" Elijah said, his anger surfacing before receding again behind his cool façade, "No, they _all_ must die. No exceptions."

Damon's hand reached out beside him to hold Elena back as she struggled, trying to reason out. He turned to her and shook his head, giving her a look of warning before turning back to Elijah, "I'll protect Elena, whatever it takes. But I'm not doing it for you. I'll do what's right by her."

Elijah shrugged, "I don't care about your motivations. I want them all dead. And if you don't succeed, I will intervene, make no mistake, and every single one of them will fall. The only question is if you will be left standing or if you'll die with them. I'll be in touch."

Damon remained tense as Elijah turned to leave, his jaw clenched as he watched the older man walk out of the door.

"Oh, and just one other thing," Elijah said turning around, "you might want to study your family history, Damon. There are no coincidences—this Katerina knows well and precisely why she's led us all to this point…to Elena and more importantly, to you, Damon."

In the blink of an eye, Elijah was gone and it was Stefan who stood in his place, a look of pure and utter shock on his face as he held a thick book in his hands.

"Damon…" Stefan said, barely registering the state of his brother's room or the tension that clouded over Elena and Damon, "look."

Bewildered, Damon walked over to Stefan followed closely by Elena. Together they looked at the page open in Stefan's hands, a picture of a man who bore a striking and impossibly uncanny resemblance to Damon that even though the picture was in black and white, they could almost see that the man's eyes were also blue, with a hint of madness staring back at them. But that wasn't what made Elena's heart drop to her stomach.

Written below the photograph was a name—_Klaus von Salvator, whereabouts unknown._


	3. Chapter 3: Bloodlines

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 3: Bloodlines**

"Excuse me?" Caroline exclaimed in amazement at the raw fury on Tyler's face as he stared her down.

"You heard me," Tyler said through gritted teeth, his muscles tense, as if he was only holding back from hitting her as he spat out each word bitterly, "You lied to me."

"About what? Tyler, what the hell are you talking about?" Caroline said, genuine confusion plain on her face, even as her neck prickled with the realization of the truth.

"Everything, Caroline, _everything_," Tyler said rounding on her, "You made a fool out of me. You led me to believe that you were just as lost as I was…that you're the only vampire in town! For what, Caroline? Why?"

"I did it to protect you!" Caroline exploded, shaking and unsteady on her feet as she met Tyler's rising tone, "If Damon…if he knew that I told you about what I am, about him and Stefan, he'd kill you without a second thought."

"Like what you all did to Mason? You killed him!" Tyler said accusingly, "Being supernatural doesn't excuse you from the crime, Caroline; because whichever way you look at it you were part of a murder. Did you even try to stop them or did you just watch? Did you even bury the body or did you just toss him like he was a piece of trash?"

"I…" Caroline opened her mouth helplessly, unable to defend herself, finding only the guilt that tore her apart whenever she looked at Tyler. "I'm sorry." Caroline said softly, "I'm sorry, Tyler."

"It's not enough," Tyler said, his voice breaking slightly as the betrayal hit home once more with Caroline's apology, "It won't change anything so don't waste your breath lying to me. I'm done listening to you."

"Please just let me explain...it's a lot more complicated than it seems," Caroline said grasping at anything, wanting just a few minutes to tell him about Katherine and how his uncle was in league with her, and what danger that meant for everyone else, "Please, Tyler, you have to listen…just hear me out…"

"Oh, I know all about the _complications_, Caroline," Tyler spat out bitterly, "At first, I thought, wow you must really care that you'd sit with me through my transformation, at the risk of your own life. I thought it actually _meant_ something. But now I know it's just guilt."

"No, Tyler, I was with you because I didn't want you going through it alone. You have to believe that," Caroline pleaded with him, tears already streaming down her face as she fought a losing battle.

"Stop lying!" Tyler howled, slamming his fist on the wall, "Admit it, Caroline, you stayed because it was better than sitting at home and thinking about how you didn't tell me there is a way to break the damn curse. You knew, and you did _nothing. _You could have saved me from that, Caroline, but you didn't. You let me turn into a monster….You."

"No…no…no…no…" Caroline sobbed, feeling her world crash around her, reaching out towards him but Tyler only swatted away her hand.

"Get out." Tyler said void of emotion, "And stay away because the next time I see you, I'll drive a stake through your heart myself."

"Tyler, _please_, you can't be this way. The curse…Elena's life is on the line here…you can't break it without killing her…she's the doppelganger. Believe me, if there was a way to keep you from all that pain, I'm all for it but not this way…Tyler…" she said, her voice fading into nothing as she watched Tyler's hardened expression as he gestured for her to walk out, holding the door open for her.

"Then she dies." Tyler said without remorse, "She's the reason why all these vampires are here, killing people to keep her safe and warm. Walk away, Caroline, because I might just change my mind and get my revenge right now."

Caroline's eyes flashed with anger and in an instant she pushed Tyler up against the wall, with one hand on his neck in a crushing grip, "I'd like to see you try. Whoever fed you all these half-truths should have also told you that you're only strong during the full moon. So that makes any other day mine to win, you got that? Elena is human and innocent. She doesn't deserve this fate—none of us do, for that matter, but we take what we've been given. Try and do the same, Tyler. I care about you but I'm not letting you near anyone else I care about. Be a little bit more understanding and while you're at it, stay out of _my_ way."

With that Caroline dropped Tyler on the floor unceremoniously and left without turning back.

* * *

The shrill ringing of the phone made Elena jump in surprise, even as she kept her eyes trained on the photograph of Klaus in the book that Stefan still held out for them to see.

"Are you going to get that?" Damon said rolling his eyes heavenward in annoyance, "Or do you want me to reach into your pocket and answer the call, if only to stop that idiotic ring tone before it gets to the chorus?"

Elena glared at him before answering the phone, "Hello?"

Damon shook his head, temporarily forgetting everything else as he listened in on the call, registering Caroline's frantic voice on the other end.

"Elena? Where are you?" Caroline asked shakily, "Please tell me you're somewhere safe."

"Yeah, I'm with Stefan and Damon." Elena said exchanging a look with Stefan, who prompted her to get Caroline to keep talking, "What's wrong?"

"It's Tyler…" Caroline started, her voice small and unsure, "He knows, Elena. He knows…he knows I lied"

"About what?" Elena asked

"About how I'm not the only vampire in town," Caroline said trembling

"You told him _what?_" Damon said sharply reaching out to snatch the phone away from Elena, who evaded him, shooting him a look that told him to keep quiet, which he ignored, "Of all the stupid and idiotic…he's a werewolf, Caroline. He can kill you. Is there no one in this town left with a sense of self-preservation?"

Caroline sighed before she replied, "I know, Damon, I know. But he needed me…anyway, that's not the worst part."

"Like I expected any good news to come out of _that_," Damon said sarcastically, "Let me guess, he threatened to eliminate all vampires in town."

"No…well, yes, that's part of it but…" Caroline said taking a deep breath before continuing, "He knows about the moonstone...and the sacrifice to break the curse. He knows about Elena."

Damon's stare hardened as echoes of what Elijah said rang in his ears, "Caroline," he said without breaking eye contact with Elena, "Get Bonnie and anyone else who can help to this house within an hour. Those wolves are not seeing another full moon."

"Caroline, go." Damon ordered, ignoring the alarmed look on Elena's face, "Don't think for one second that Tyler isn't considering killing you if he finds an opportunity, not when you're standing in the way like this. _Move_."

"But he's my friend," Caroline whispered mostly to herself, "I can't…"

"Caroline, listen to_ me_," Elena emphasized, daring Damon to contradict her, "No one will hurt Tyler okay? He's going be just fine. We're all going to be fine."

Stefan reached out and took the phone from Elena, "Caroline, just come here and we'll figure it out okay?"

"There's nothing to figure out, Stefan. Stop pretending. Don't soften a blow that's inevitable." Damon retorted as they all her the line go silent, "He's one of _them_, meaning he dies with them. End of story."

"Damon, just because he's a werewolf that doesn't mean he's our enemy," Elena said angrily, "I know you're still upset over what happened with Rose but Tyler wasn't a part of that. Don't take it out on him."

Damon inhaled sharply and narrowed his eyes at Elena, grounding out his words, "I am not upset, Elena. This isn't about Rose or Tyler."

"Then what is it about?" Elena challenged, "Because I'm not letting you touch, Tyler, he's my friend, Damon!"

"This is about _you_, Elena!" Damon exploded, "I'm trying to protect you! It doesn't matter if he's a wolf or even just a ferret—if he threatens you in any way then he's on my list. Stop questioning my motives because it's just going to be about you. It's _always_ about _you."_

Elena's breath caught in her throat as she listened to the silence that followed Damon's admission, both of them turning to Stefan for his reaction, wondering why he kept his silence all this time.

"I agree, he's a threat," Stefan said reasonably, holding one hand before Damon, "But I think we can still reason with him. He's still new to all of this and I don't think they've poisoned his mind yet about us being enemies…he's been around Elena, been her friend…It's probably just the shock talking and he'll come around. We just need to try."

"And if you fail, Stefan, what then?" Damon said evenly, his eyes not leaving Elena as he questioned his brother.

"It won't come to that. I can't let that happen," Elena said in a hollow voice.

"You don't have a choice," Damon said in a low voice, "I'm not giving you one. I'm not losing you."

"Oh, wow, intense," Caroline interrupted shakily from the doorway, "Sorry, I let myself in. Bonnie will be here soon. So, what did I miss? Have you started on a game plan already?"

"Yes. Step one, kill all the wolves. Step 2, bury the bodies. Is that good enough for you?" Damon said casually leaning against the wall as Elena deigned to glare at him again.

"No, that's not it. Damon, will you stop that, please." Elena said tiredly as Stefan placed an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder in support as he intervened.

"Stop it, we won't get anywhere by arguing. Let's just wait for everyone else to get here okay? Besides, this isn't our only problem at the moment, in case you've forgotten," Stefan pointed out, gesturing to the book in his hands.

"What's Damon's picture doing in an old book?" Caroline asked, transfixed on the photograph, running a finger down the page, stopping abruptly when she came to the name, "Wait, why do you look like Klaus?"

"Get in line." Damon said impatiently, "You're not the first person to ask and I'm getting the feeling you won't be the last. Whatever the reason is, it's not urgent. I've looked the same for over a hundred years so that means, I've shared this face with that man long enough without anything happening to me so it can wait until after we save Elena's life for the nth time."

"What if it means something?" Elena said slowly, pacing in the middle of the room, "What if it's connected to breaking the curse and why Klaus is after me?"

"You're reaching, Elena," Damon said impatiently, "Not good enough. It doesn't change the fact that Tyler is a threat to your life and all the vampires in this room."

"She's right," Stefan said agreeing with Elena, "Maybe figuring out your connection to Klaus will be the start of really unraveling this whole curse and just how we can save everyone—including Tyler."

Damon pushed himself of the wall silently, walking towards his brother and reaching out with one hand for the book, turning to Elena after, "I'm doing this for you. Not because I think it makes sense or because I'm crossing my fingers right along with you, hoping for an answer that will never come. Only for you, Elena. But let me make this clear—you can't save everyone. People die. It's a fact and it will hurt like hell. And I'm done with pain, Elena, so don't expect me to be the town hero because I can only afford to save you."

"I don't want to be saved, Damon," Elena said softly, "The only thing I need is for everyone I care about to be safe."

"Then you should never have let me fall for you," Damon whispered so softly, leaning in so that only Elena could hear, then walking out before anyone could say anything else.

* * *

"And they keep coming back for more," Katherine said from the shadows of the cave she melted into so seamlessly, "Back so soon, I see, Damon. Miss me?"

"Yes," Damon answered deadpan, "Life just isn't the same without your lying and cheating ways. Katherine, please break my heart, won't you?"

"No, thanks," Katherine said sweetly, "Elena's doing a fine job all on her own. Why mess with a good thing?"

Damon's eyes blazed with blue fire as he fought to keep himself in check, standing still as he looked at Katherine's amused expression.

"What do you want, Damon?" Katherine said breaking the silence, getting to the point quickly, "You're beginning to bore me and I've got enough of that in here, so either you start talking or I'll go back inside to ponder life's meaning."

Damon maintained his silence as he opened the book to the photograph, showing it to her, raising his eyebrows in question.

"I've seen Klaus before, what's your point?" Katherine said nonchalantly with a shrug.

Damon snapped the book shut and threw it down the ground, closing the distance between them in a second, stopping exactly where Katherine couldn't reach, "So, what, it just never occurred to you to mention that I looked like Klaus?"

"Oh I'm sorry," Katherine said mockingly, "It seemed unimportant at the time. I was too busy falling in love with Stefan to find the time to tell you that you look like the vampire who wanted to drain my blood when I was still human."

"Well, seeing as you have nothing but time on your hands, I would recommend you start talking, Katherine," Damon said seething, "Let's start with this question—Is this why you turned me? Did turning me have anything to do with the fact that I look like Klaus?"

A smile played on Katherine's lips, her eyes danced in mischief as she regarded him, visibly amused, "Wouldn't you just love to know. And I want to tell you, I really do, but it's not going to come free."

"Here, I have blood," Elena said from behind Damon, holding up a bottle full of the crimson liquid, "I've got more as long as you keep the answers coming."

"What the hell are you doing here, Elena?" Damon hissed, pulling her behind him, hiding her from Katherine's sight, snatching the bottle from her, "Aren't you supposed to be with baby brother figuring out a way to tame the wolf?"

"I am but someone had to make sure you're not about to do something stupid," Elena answered back, "So I'm stuck with Damon patrol."

"Are you two done flirting now?" Katherine called out in an irritated voice, "Or should I come back in an hour or two?"

Damon breathed out in frustration and faced Katherine again, "Fine, you get a bottle for every answer. Take it or leave it."

"My freedom from this hellhole for all the answers you want." Katherine said flatly, "I walk out of here and I'll tell you _everything_. I'll even throw in a bonus—my help for whatever comes after, and that includes Elena's safety."

"Yeah, ask for something I can actually give you, Katherine," Damon said exasperated, "Do I look like Elijah's BFF that I'll be able to convince him to compel you out of there? I don't think so."

Katherine laughed humorlessly, "Consider this a freebie, a token of good faith—I didn't ask you to ask Elijah to break the compulsion. I asked _you_ to get me out of here."

"I can't override Elijah's compulsion…I can't even compel another vampire to begin with," Damon said crossing his arms in front of him, looking Katherine straight in the eyes as he continued, "Duh."

"Any other vampire won't be able to, I guarantee that. But _you_ can. I know this will fall on deaf ears but I'll say it anyway—trust me." Katherine said, one corner of her mouth teasingly turning upwards, "Besides, it won't hurt to try."

Damon stepped forward, untangling Elena's hand from his arm as she tried to hold him back. He stared straight into Katherine's eyes and spoke, "You're free to go. Walk out of the tomb as you please."

Elena watched with baited breath as Damon took a step back as Katherine blinked once, and then a second time before her lips spread into a triumphant grin.

Katherine traced the invisible barrier between the tomb and the outside world with her toe before placing her foot outside, followed by the other. She took a deep breath as she stood right outside the entry, taking a deep breath as she lifted her face to the night sky, eyes closed as her smile widened.

Finally, Katherine looked at Damon, eyeing him as he stepped in front of Elena protectively, a shocked expression on his face as the realization of what he had done hit him fully.

It was Katherine who broke the growing silence, "Very good, Damon. See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Of course not…after all, you are your father's _son."_


	4. Chapter 4: Chasing truth from lies

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 4: Chasing truth from lies**

"I'll give you this—you're a persistent liar, Katherine," Damon said shaking his head, backing away slightly to shield Elena completely from view.

"And you're so pathetically blind to what is right in front of you, Damon," Katherine replied casually, glancing at Elena with a knowing smile, "In more ways than one."

"I don't have time to decode your cryptic dialogue, Katherine," Damon said, "A deal's a deal—you're out and about, I want my answers. Start talking."

"Start about what you said…about Damon being…you know _his_ son," Elena said from behind Damon, still trying to move forward as Damon glared at her, "You mean Klaus?"

"Yes," Katherine answered simply, circling Damon, who moved right along with her to stay between her and Elena.

"Impossible." Damon said frowning, brushing off the statement, "Vampires don't procreate. The dead can't create life and old as I am, I still recall starting out as a living, breathing human."

"Klaus is an Original, the First," Katherine said as if that answered everything.

"Use your words, Katherine," Damon said with an edge of impatience to his voice, "Preferably those that explain things that we don't already know. Let's start you off in the right direction—fill in the blanks. Klaus was able to father a human child because…" Damon said nodding for her to continue.

"He never died," Katherine said bluntly, "The bastard has a pulse—I heard it myself. Barely audible but it's there. He was turned by tainted blood alone, transformed before he even died. He was only on the brink of death but he didn't die. Klaus was the first to survive the transformation that they did those days."

Katherine sat on a rock, leaning back as she continued her tale, "Picture ancient Egypt when the pharaohs were obsessed with immortality and he's test subject number three hundred for the witches of the time. Problem was they created a selfish monster who murdered the other 'creations' but since the blood was so potent, they came back undead—the other Originals, those who received the blood from the source of the magic not another vampire. They're stronger because there's more magic in the blood they received."

"But the curse should have limited that, wasn't that the point? To keep their power in check by binding them to the night?" Elena stated, glancing at Katherine then at Damon.

"You keep talking about this curse but do you really understand what it _is_?" Katherine exploded, "The problem with historical records is that they're tainted by human bias. You remember what you want and most of the time they're threaded with fiction. Generations later, the truth is only less than ten percent of what's written in the books. Precisely why when you finally realize you need to get to the bottom of things, you keep asking the wrong questions."

Silence took the place of answers as Katherine calmed down enough to continue with a dramatic sigh, as if she were explaining to a child, "He was made before the rules were even made. So Damon, to answer _your_ question _satisfactorily_, he is capable of fathering a child. He just doesn't know about it."

"Klaus doesn't know that I exist?" Damon asked

"He knows _of_ the Salvatore brothers but that _you_ are his son, no. And for your sake and mine, let's keep it that way." Katherine said, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes, "He won't take it well that I made sure you won't be so easy to kill."

"Why would he want to kill Damon?" Elena said, an edge of protectiveness easing its way out of her as she stared at Katherine waiting for an answer.

Katherine smirked and regarded Elena curiously, "Elena, for someone like that who has lived so long, death, to not exist, is something to be feared. It's a kill or be killed scenario, Elena. And here comes a man who is capable of ending him, a vampire who was turned with the First's blood running inside his veins. The odds will still be against Damon but he's everyone's best bet to defeat Klaus."

"Is that why you turned me?" Damon spat out, "Your own personal assassin?"

"No, that's only a happy coincidence," Katherine responded calmly, "Saving you was never the priority but it had to be done because I needed you to get to this point in time, Damon."

"Is this the part where I should fall on my knees and start thanking you?" Damon jested humorlessly, one hand over his heart, "What to do with all these warm and fuzzy feelings, Katherine? What to do..."

"Wait, what are you saying, Katherine?" Elena said confused as she struggled to connect the dots that Katherine was throwing on the ground before them, "Is that what you were saying about the curse not being as simple as we thought it to be? Turning Damon is part of all this, of your plan… "

"Give the girl a prize, she's finally catching on," Katherine said applauding her with false admiration, "Chew on this, Elena—if the curse is about werewolves turning whenever they want and vampires walking in the sun, what the hell does a human doppelganger have to do with anything? Why is there even a doppelganger in the first place if this is all about limiting the powers of vampires? Why is it that our face keeps showing up in different generations? Nothing? Anything? Not even a tiny spark? Do I have to spell out everything for you?"

"Fine," Katherine said impatiently, "the doppelganger's bloodline is the source of the blood the Egyptians used to create the First. Magic plus moonstone plus your blood equals another wave of Originals or for Klaus— invincibility and the inevitable end of humanity. A being with complete immunity to anything and everything, paired with an insatiable thirst for power, blood and death. It's not about being able to walk in the daylight—we have Bennett witches for that. It's about power. So using the moonstone, the ancients cursed man to become a wolf during the full moon to protect the stone and the doppelganger because that's when the spell can be done. Which is why breaking the curse doesn't just mean they don't have to keep turning on the full moon…it means they never have to turn at all—because they've failed to protect what they were made for."

"What's in it for you?" Damon questioned, "Surely you haven't been hiding a conscience in that black heart of yours. What do you get out of breaking the curse? The power? You want Elena's blood to be one of them?"

"I was a doppelganger," Katherine said rather amused, "How do you think I managed to elude the Originals all this time? Sheer luck? My ability to withstand vervain wasn't merely tolerance but it's because of who I am. I'm a Petrova so that blood already runs though me. I'm as good as an Original but since the moonstone wasn't in the picture, just Trevor's blood, and death was still necessary, I'm just not as strong as Klaus, which is why you were able to compel me out of the tomb."

"So what is it?" Damon repeated, challenging Katherine, staring deep into her eyes as he spoke, "Tell me, Katherine; what do you want out of this?"

"My life," Katherine answered against her will, the words forced out of her lips, unable to fight Damon's compulsion, "When the blood of the First is returned, the debt of magic will be repaid and a gift of life will be bestowed to the lineage of those sacrificed. That life is mine."

Elena's breath caught in her throat, horror paralyzing her, "You want to drain Damon's blood?"

"Answer her question," Damon commanded.

"No," Katherine continued mechanically, unable to prevent the truth from spilling out, "His blood is tainted with his mother's. They share a face, some powers, but it won't be enough. It isn't what I need. It has to be Klaus."

"Then why am I here?" Damon asked forcefully, his question slamming into Katherine as if it were a physical blow.

Katherine turned slowly to Elena, every trace of mockery gone from her face as she answered the question easily, "For her... to protect Elena. You're the only one who can. You're here for _her_."


	5. Chapter 5: Choices

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 5****: Choices**

_Flashback_

"_Please, no, don't hurt me," the young girl cowered in fear at the sight of Katerina's bared fangs, trying to push herself off the ground so she could run, flinching when she heard the hiss of the vampire in front of her, "Please."_

"_Where is the family?" Katerina asked harshly, her bloodshot eyes piercing her captive, "Are they inside?"_

_The fire crackled as it devoured the house behind them, flames reflected in her eyes as she asked the question repeatedly, the young girl whimpering, unable to form words. "Answer me!" Katerina demanded pulling up the girl, gripping her shoulders so tight that additional pressure would break her bones._

_But she didn't need to wait for an answer. Unbidden her answer came in the form of a gut-wrenching sob full of pain, anger and sorrow blended into one voice. Katerina turned and watched an old man shaking the body of a woman, his wife presumably, repeating his plea for her to wake up over and over even if the truth was plainly written on her face—she was dead._

_Katerina closed her eyes, turning once more to the girl that shook in her grip. Her eyes flashed open, bright with rage and a myriad of emotions she kept under lock and key, "I saved your life tonight. I pulled you out before anything could happen to you, at the risk of my own life. You belong to me, witch. Remember that."_

_Without a second glance, Katerina let the girl fall to the ground as she turned towards the house that blazed against the ink black night. Her footsteps led her towards a man as who gathered his wife into his arms as he knelt before her, completely unaware of everything happening around him. He sobbed, calling her name as if it would breathe life into her. Katerina shook her head, anger filling her head, making her dizzy. Katerina's hands curled into tight fists, her rage boiling inside her as she watched another descendant of her daughter, her own bloodline, vanish before her very eyes. For the first time in decades, she felt the cold touch her, taunt her with lost hope._

_She moved towards them, irrational desire to be part of their grief overwhelming her, to finally show the world the despair she felt when her daughter was taken from her, her family slaughtered and her life spent in an endless battle to escape from the Originals._

_But a movement from the house forced her back into the shadows. Katerina tore her eyes away from the lifeless body and watched as a young man, a soldier it appeared, carried out another corpse. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the face of the dead girl, the ghost of a smile frozen on her lips. She looked to be Katerina's age when she was turned and it made her blood boil to watch the girl's hand fall limply to the side—pale cold and without a pulse. _

_The young man walked steadily towards the bare patch of earth in front of the house, his face hidden behind his hair, head down as he kept his eyes on the girl in his arms. The man stopped suddenly as if he was deciding what direction to take only to fall to the ground on his knees, with an unanswered prayer as the girl in his arms remained lifeless. He shifted to a comfortable position, his finger tracing her fine features as he choked back a sob, pulling her close to his chest before letting out every single pain that shattered his soul. It wasn't fair. She was so young and never had a chance to start her life. It wasn't right. He had just told her that he loved her and now there was nothing left. His love couldn't save her. It wasn't enough._

_He lifted his head, staring straight ahead with blank expressionless eyes that masked the heartbreak that shook his body. His vision blurred as he laid her gently on the ground, not caring who saw his tears as he fell apart. _

_Katerina gasped and staggered backwards, deeper into the shadow as her hand clamped over her mouth, forcing back the silent scream when she saw the young man's face. Fear paralyzed her as she watched him, unblinking, 'It can't be,' she thought, 'No. No. No.'_

_Then all of a sudden, the young man turned his head, facing Katerina, his unseeing eyes trained on her. And then she knew. This was not Klaus. Her mind began to spin, everything in her mind spiraling as it tried to understand the truth behind the resemblance of this young man with the vampire that sought to kill her. _

"_Damon," the older man, calmer and more serene now, called out to the young man, pulling him away gently, "you are bleeding. Please, come with me. We need to have your wounds dressed."_

_Damon continued to stare at the distance, where Katerina stood and lifted her hand involuntarily towards her heart. He blinked once, closed his eyes before lifting his face to the heavens, his scream tearing through the night and not a being who heard his grief was left untouched by the hopelessness he felt._

"_Help! I need help! Please, she's still alive!" someone cried out, carrying a messy bundle that appeared to be a young child. _

"_My baby girl!" the older man said leaping up to take the child under Katerina's watchful stare._

_Katerina eyed the scene, taking in the features of the girl, finding confirmation that the bloodline of the doppelganger will continue. A smile spread through her lips, her own selfish desires finding its way to the forefront once more as a plan unfolded in her mind. And it all started with Damon. If she played it right, it will also end with him._

_Katerina turned around slowly and walked purposefully towards Emily Bennett, the witch she had saved who remained on the ground a few meters away, frozen in shock._

"_Come with me," Katerina called out, "There is much to do."_

_Emily forced herself to stand, though unwilling she knew her debt needed to be honored, "Where do we begin?"_

"_Find out where that Damon lives," Katerina whispered, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards, "I can't wait to meet him. I have his whole life planned out for him."_

_

* * *

_

"Don't tell me you actually bought her intricately woven web of lies, Elena?" Damon asked as they walked up the steps to her house, "You are staying here, where you're safe, and you are doing anything but out looking for Klaus. If Katherine wants to sacrifice him, she can do it herself."

"But the doppelganger has to be the one to do it for it to work…_I_ have to do it, Damon," Elena insisted, placing a hand on his arm, "If we do this, we keep the wolves off our backs for good because there won't be a curse for them to break either. You don't have to go after them or Tyler…"

"Elena, curse or no curse, they're still a threat to _me_, Stefan and Caroline," Damon said, " Even if the rest of them leave town, it only takes one mistake with a rusty chain or faulty lock and Tyler ends everything in a downward spiral of unbearable pain and dementia. You saw what happened to Rose. I'm not watching someone else die that way. Never."

"Maybe there's more to the story…get Katherine to tell us more. There could be another way," Elena said grasping at any possibility she could think of.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Damon said incredulously, "Why are you suddenly Katherine's number one fan? She's a good storyteller, I'll give her that. Ten points on creativity and drama but it's nothing but fiction, Elena."

"Damon, you _compelled_ her out of the tomb, and her story is consistent with her usual selfishness since she will get something out of this. Can't you just accept that maybe she's telling the truth and that we might actually get through this alive?" Elena pointed out impatiently.

"Elena, I'll bet there are a thousand ways of getting out of that tomb. Consider the possibility that she got some witch to undo the compulsion, waited for us to go back so she could tell her tale of woe to manipulate us into trusting her," Damon said reasoning with her, "This is what she does, Elena. Don't think for one second she doesn't want you dead. With you in the picture, she doesn't have a hope in hell of getting Stefan to even look at her. And believe me; she's after him as much she's lusting after a pulse and a sense of humanity."

"Damon, it's not just what she said," Elena said shaking her head, stubbornly refusing to agree that easily, "It can't be a coincidence that you look exactly like Klaus. It has to mean something."

"Yes, good looks are rare but not limited," Damon retorted, "Elena, we've never even seen Klaus. The only thing we have is that picture from a book that could have been easily fabricated, the cryptic words of Elijah and Katherine's lies. All untrustworthy and unverifiable sources so I wouldn't lose sleep over it, Elena. It's nothing."

"Then what am I supposed to believe, Damon? Because we're running right back to the only other feasible option and that's for me to die so that no one else has to," Elena closed her eyes in frustration, feeling the need to scream at Damon but holding back as she continued to attempt to reason with him, "I'm finally fighting, Damon, and you're the one giving up on me."

Damon closed his eyes and lowered his head, his fists clenched at his sides as he took one deep breath after another before he finally looked at her, his blue eyes searing through her, his anger clear on his face, "I'd die before I give up on you. Just because I've given up fighting Stefan for you, doesn't mean I'm not fighting to keep you alive. I still…I lo—…I care, Elena. More than you'll ever understand."

"Then help me find out if Katherine is telling the truth. Help me find Klaus." Elena said softly.

"Not even if you say pretty please." Damon shook his head gently as he turned to leave, "Elena, the only thing she didn't lie about was that I'm here for you. I will protect you and I don't care how, why or what curse is broken as long as you stay alive."

Elena's hand shot out and kept him from leaving, "Promise me that you won't do anything stupid tonight. Promise me you'll go home and you won't go hunting down werewolves. Please. I'll go inside, sleep and stay as safe as I can be but only if you do the same."

Damon nodded silently as he pulled her hand off his arm and placed a light kiss on the top of her head, "Good night, Elena. We'll talk in the morning."

* * *

Elena floated in and out of sleep to the sound of continuous pounding on her door, loud and insistent, accompanied by Bonnie and Caroline calling out her name frantically.

"Oh, can we please stop wasting time?" Elena heard someone say from just outside her door before it was thrown forcibly open.

"There," Katherine said waving her hands around, "What are you waiting for? You scream yourselves hoarse and now you're just standing there? Wake her up!"

Bonnie glared at Katherine as Caroline brushed past them towards the bed, proceeding to shake Elena awake, "Get up, get up, get up!"

"What?" Elena said rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, blinking in surprise to find her door across the room and Katherine standing at the foot of her bed next to Bonnie, "What are you doing here? What happened?"

"It's Stefan," Caroline said in a small voice, suddenly becoming quiet, "They took him last night from his house. The werewolves…Elena, they took him."

Elena's head turned sharply towards Katherine, her eyes full of accusation, "But you were there, we left you there after…why didn't you stop them?"

Katherine ran her hands across Elena's things as she walked towards the window and sat on the bench, "I tried," she said with a shrug.

"Not hard enough apparently," Elena said furiously, getting out of bed to stand in front of Katherine, wanting to strangle her.

"Well one can only do so much after being starved for so long in that dingy cave. You try being kept there without any food or water and let's see you fend off a pack of werewolves," Katherine said stretching out her hand to look at her nails.

"For someone who claims to love him, you are awfully unconcerned about this," Elena said shaking in anger.

In the blink of an eye, Katherine had Elena pinned against the wall. "You know nothing." Katherine growled before releasing her, "Nothing."

Elena clutched her throat as Bonnie and Caroline helped her up, "Damon…he should have been there, right? What happened? Why wasn't he able to stop them?"

At this Katherine turned around and looked curiously at Elena, mild surprise on her face as she tilted her head, "He never came home."

"No, no, no, no," Elena said close to hysteria, "He brought me here and he promised he was going home. He promised he wasn't going to do anything…he promised."

Elena clutched her stomach as if she were going to get sick as her world spun around her. Her knees were weak as she sat on the bed unsteadily, her mind rapidly going through the possibilities of what happened the night before and the only image she could see was Damon's corpse in her arms.

"Look, Elena, he's probably fine," Bonnie said quickly shooting a murderous look at Katherine as she placed an arm around her friend's shoulder, "Let's just focus on finding Stefan okay?"

Caroline bit her lip, "I think we should call Tyler, you know maybe he'll tell us?"

Suddenly Elena's phone started ringing, an unknown number on the screen, "Hello?" Elena answered in a shaky voice.

"I assume by now your vampire double has told you we have your boyfriend," Jules said in an eerily calm voice over the other end of the line, "And that the other one never made it back home. We have them. They're both alive, for now."

"Please don't hurt them. What do you want?" Elena asked as she raked her fingers through her hair, pacing around her room as she talked to Jules.

"Oh, it's all about what you want, Elena, because from what I've gathered, you can't seem to choose between them and that's going to play a big part in how all this will go down," Jules taunted, "Are you ready, Elena?"

"What do you want?" Elena repeated through gritted teeth.

"I think you should answer that question, Elena, but in the interest of time I'll do it for you. You want to save them, right? But I want to kill them both for what they did to Mason. So, I'll give you a choice—you get to pick who gets to live. I've ordered them to be killed at the same time, in separate places, which are quite difficult to find so if you go looking for one, you're not likely to get to the other in time even with all the help you can get. One lives, one dies—we both win."

"No, I can't…I can't…"Elena said weakly as Katherine glared at her and snatched the phone out of her hand.

"There has to be another way," Katherine said in a horrified voice, mimicking Elena as she spoke to Jules.

"Glad you asked. I will trade both of them for your life and the moonstone. Come to the shack by the edge of the cemetery in one hour and I'll call it off." Jules said, "Your decision."

Caroline shook her head at Katherine, mouthing to her that Elijah had it. Katherine's lips tightened into a straight line, "I don't have it."

"Then get it. It's not really my problem, now is it?" Jules said evenly before the line went silent.

"What did she say?" Elena asked hoarsely

"She's willing to give them up if she gets you and the moonstone, which is not happening because vampire Barbie just said it's with Elijah. And I don't think he's giving that up anytime soon," Katherine said with a frightening calm in her voice, "So, obviously you should get cracking on a eulogy for Damon while we figure out a way to track down Stefan."

Elena shook her head, "No, find Elijah. I'll get the moonstone."

"Do you think he's going to hand it to you so the werewolves can break the curse?" Katherine said with a mirthless laugh, "Do you think Elijah will just let you ruin his plans?"

"Elena," Bonnie said, "We can't let you do that. If I have to seal you in this house, I'll do it."

"Bonnie, you don't understand, I can't let them die," Elena pleaded with her friend.

"You're not letting _them_ die, Elena. Just Damon, unless the witch can summon enough magic to track down two vampires, that I'm sure they have wards against." Katherine pointed out, "As much as it will derail my own agenda, this is the best option we have at this point—give Damon up."

"I can't," Elena said full of frustration, "I can't do that."

"Why not? You're wasting time, Elena." Katherine asked sharply.

"You love him." Caroline said quietly, staring at Elena to find neither denial in her eyes nor confirmation from her lips.

"I can't walk away from him," Elena said quietly, pleading with all of them with her eyes, begging them to understand.

"Even if it means Stefan will die?" Katherine challenged her, forcing an answer out of her.

Elena closed her eyes, and clutched the necklace that hung around her neck, "I trust you," she said to Katherine, "to find Stefan and get him away from them. Bonnie and Caroline will help you."

Elena took a deep breath before continuing, standing up to face Katherine, looking her straight in the eyes, "But I have to try and find Damon, even if I have to do it alone and even if I have to die trying."

Elena looked at the shocked faces, and smiled sadly before walking away.

"Why?" Bonnie asked her face full of confusion.

"Because I know you'll save Stefan. But faced with a choice, you won't do the same for Damon and I'm telling you that he's worth it, Bonnie. He deserves to be saved as much as Stefan." Elena said quietly, "I can't let him die without letting him know that. I can't let him die."

"Do you love him?" Bonnie asked her, "I want to hear it from you."

Elena frowned before giving her a pained smile, one hand on the door frame as she considered her answer carefully.

"Tell Stefan I'm sorry," Elena said faintly and with that she turned and left.


	6. Chapter 6: The ties that bind

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 6: The ties that bind**

"What-" Damon said, spinning around and catching the arm of his attacker with his hand, twisting until he heard bones breaking in the middle of all the screaming," –are you doing here, Elena?"

He glared at her as he proceeded to plunge his hand in the chest of another werewolf, pulling out its heart and flinging it clear across the room.

"Silver bullets," Alaric said quickly as he tossed a gun to Damon, who took it without a word, his eyes never leaving Elena who only narrowly escaped the blow of another werewolf.

Damon glared at Elena as he pulled her by the arm and folded her into him, one arm extended as he shot the offending werewolf. He leaned back a few inches to look down at Elena, finally tearing his eyes away from the chaos for just a few seconds, "I asked you a question, Elena. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Talk later, Damon," Elena said, looking past his shoulder, throwing the dagger in her hand with surprising precision that struck one of the kidnappers squarely in the neck, "You can pout or kick and scream all you want after we get out of here."

"Fine," Damon said letting her go to walk a few steps away to snap the neck of the last remaining werewolf, "and we're done. Start talking, Elena. Explain to why you're standing in front of me, looking damn proud of yourself for knocking down a wolf with your trusty little knife."

"We're just trying to save you, Damon," Alaric interrupted as he hauled the bodies to the center of the room.

"Shut up, supernatural arms dealer, I wasn't talking to you. If I recall correctly, our goal is to protect Elena, not drag her into the middle of a fight," Damon spat out angrily, unmoving as he held Elena's cold stare.

"You're _welcome,_ Damon," Elena said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Yes, thank you, Elena, for reminding me why having Bonnie seal you in your house is a good idea," Damon said matching her tone, "What were you thinking, coming here, guns blazing? Or were you not thinking at all?"

"They were going to kill you, Damon!" Elena said, taking a deep breath before letting out a long frustrated sigh, "They were going to kill you."

Damon rolled his eyes, "O ye of little faith. Elena, trust me, it's going to take more than five…sorry that's six underage werewolves to kill me, especially when it's not even a full moon. Besides, Katherine wasn't lying about my…_abilities_. Apparently, I can compel werewolves as well. Imagine that."

"What?" Elena said unblinking, rendering her motionless, as Alaric caught Damon by the arm.

"Am I missing something here? What are you talking about, Damon?" Alaric said sharply

"I was doing perfectly fine before you got here and played your white knight card. Sorry but I was not in distress. I compelled the lone wolf guarding me into removing the shackles, stupid move btw, and I was almost home free when the rest of the pack came back. But since I was free, I pretty much just need to break a few bones and pull out internal organs so I could go on my merry way. I was in the middle of that when you decided to join in the fun." Damon said nonchalantly, shrugging as he took the gasoline from Alaric and dousing the bodies and the surrounding area with the liquid.

"Not that part." Alaric said, "What do you by you can compel werewolves as well? Who else can you do that to? I thought it only worked on humans? How are you able to do that?"

"My eyes are just that pretty," Damon answered deadpan as he searched the pockets of the bodies, taking a phone from one before taking the box of matches from Alaric's other hand, "Why aren't you two moving? So eager to kill but not to clean up after, seriously—move, unless you want to be part of this bonfire."

Damon ushered them out, following them before pausing at the door to throwing a lit match towards the middle of the room, letting fire consume any evidence of the bloodbath.

He turned around to face Elena who had her arms around herself, eyes trained on the blazing house behind him.

"Where's Alaric?" Damon asked, watching Elena carefully.

"He's getting the car. He parked away from here so they wouldn't be able to pick up on the sound." Elena said in an empty voice, letting her arms fall to the side, revealing that she clutched her phone in her hand.

Damon tilted his head, nodding towards the phone, "Aren't you going to check if they got Stefan out?"

Elena blinked in surprise, "You know?"

"That they kidnapped us both? Yes. Jules was very proud of herself for thinking of that particular plot twist and she felt like she needed an audience for her self-proclaimed brilliance," Damon said, "What I don't know is the answer to my question—why are you here?"

"I told you," Elena said exasperated, "They were going to kill you…so we came."

"No, Elena, I didn't ask why you wanted to save me," Damon said in a low, steady voice, as he took one step closer, "I asked why you're _here_."

Comprehension dawned on Elena, her features softening as she looked at him, tracing his face with her eyes as the desire to give him an answer burned in her, "I don't know." Elena said, giving her the most honest answer she could without letting her growing guilt overwhelm her, "You needed me, so I'm here."

"I don't mind the pity, but I'd rather not see it up close. Next time just send someone else to check if there's no stake sticking out of my chest," Damon said shaking his head as he walked towards the car that was approaching them, "You should make that call now. Check on Stefan."

Elena closed her eyes, squeezing them tight, "Wait," she called out, waiting for him to turn around, locking her eyes with his, "Damon…I…I couldn't trust them with your life. Other than Stefan, I didn't really know who was willing to die trying to save you. And I needed...I needed to see with my own eyes that you're okay. Like it or not, Damon, I'm always going to try and save you."

"Why?" Damon asked softly, hints of pain in his voice.

Elena walked towards him, stopping when she stood exactly beside him, facing the opposite direction, unable to look at him when she gave her answer, "Because I need you, Damon."

* * *

Jules was pacing in front of Tyler, her hands shaking as she hit the call button on her phone for the twentieth time since the deadline passed.

"Can you stop that? Just sit down for a minute, you're driving me crazy." Tyler said to Jules, his jaw set in annoyance.

Jules merely narrowed her eyes and ignored him, muttering to herself why no one was picking up her call, her eyes widening when finally the ringing stopped.

"Hello? Steven?" Jules said frantically, her face darkening a few seconds later when she realized someone else was on the other end, "Elena."

"Nope, sorry, the doppelganger is not available. I can take a message if you want," the voice said casually, "But it's going to be a while before I pass it on since I'm still busy helping Stefan get home. But if you want you can probably call the other number you have for Damon's warden…I'm sure Elena will pick up. They should be done there too."

"Kathy." Jules said through gritted teeth, "What have you done?"

"Still remember me, I see." Katherine said playfully, "Not surprising since you did spend a lot of your time trying to turn Mason against me before, poisoning his mind about how I couldn't be trusted."

"He died because you pulled him into this mess, back to Mystic Falls," Jules said furiously.

"Oh, it wasn't in the plan but I'm not denying that, "Katherine replied airily, "But did you really have to take it out on Stefan? Damon, I understand but Stefan? Elena might be forgiving and with enough remorse, she'll forgive you by next week but I'm not her. I'm bear grudges and I'm vengeful. You shouldn't have gone after Stefan, Jules."

"I'm not afraid of you." Jules said, trying hard to contain the tremor in her voice as she spoke.

"You don't have to be," Katherine said her voice dropping an octave, "Because I'll kill you either way. Goodbye, Jules. Watch your back."

The line went silent as Jules screamed into the air, cursing as she balled her hands into fists, "They're both free and I'm guessing they wiped out half the pack that we dispatched for this."

"Lucky for you, I have insurance," Brady interrupted from the door, holding an unconscious person by the shirt—Jeremy.

* * *

Damon answered the phone on the third ring as he was walking into the Salvatore boarding house, "Hello, kidnap victim speaking. How can I help you?"

"Who is-?" Elena started to ask, Damon gesturing with his hand for her to stay silent.

"Uh huh," Damon said nodding intently, raising his eyebrows, "Okay. Uh huh…hmmm. Right. No, thanks. Yes, final answer. I'll ask her but it's not really going to matter what she wants. Okay great talking to you. Have a nice day. Drop dead!"

"Are capable of having a conversation that doesn't even sound half-demented?" Alaric asked Damon with a straight face.

"No," Damon said seriously, "I like the expression on people's faces when they can't keep up with me. Elena, small problem…."

"What? Who was that? Did something happen to Stefan? I thought they got him out?" Elena said rapidly, not pausing for a breath as she fired off questions in succession.

"Oh no, he's perfectly fine," Damon said watching as Elena sighed in relief, "It's Jeremy. They have him."

Elena's knees wobbled and Alaric led her to the nearest chair, glaring at Damon as he did, "A little bit of finesse when breaking bad news can help, Damon."

"Help who?" Damon said incredulously, "Definitely not Jeremy. He's not going to suddenly find a way to escape if I tell Elena the news over a cup of tea. We don't have time. Same deal—Elena plus moonstone, in two hours. And like you heard me say—I said no deal."

"But Damon!" Elena said standing up only to have Damon push her back down.

"No buts, Elena," Damon said sharply, "I'll tie you to that chair if I have to. You're not going anywhere."

"Jeremy needs me," Elena tried to reason with Damon, "I need to get him out of there."

"No, he needs to get out of there but it doesn't mean you need to be involved in that process," Damon pointed out, "Please, Elena. The longer we argue about this, the less time we have to actually get Jeremy out of trouble."

"Jeremy?" Bonnie asked as she entered the house, followed by Caroline and Katherine who supported Stefan in between them, blood dripping down his face.

"Let me guess," Katherine said dryly as they settled Stefan in the chair Elena vacated for him to sit in, "they have the little brother."

Elena wiped blood off Stefan's face, whispering apologies to him, rewarded only by a pained smile. Damon watched them, swallowing the lump in his throat as Elena touched her forehead to Stefan's, her eyes closed as guilt emanated from every part of her.

"Earth to Damon," Katherine interrupted, smirking at him, her eyes following his line of sight, "So, what are we waiting for?"

"For the witch to tell us she's mastered her parlor tricks of migraines and if Caroline's ready to kill the Romeo to her Juliet," Damon said eyeing Bonnie and Caroline, "We fight to kill, ladies. Are you up for it?"

Caroline was the first to nod, her blue eyes the only evidence that her heart was breaking inside, followed by Bonnie, her stance showing her determination to see Jeremy alive and well.

"After you," Damon said standing by the door, gesturing for Bonnie, Caroline and Alaric to pass through, stopping Katherine before she went out, "Oh but as for you…"

Damon stared deep into Katherine's eyes, locking her in place with an iron grip on her arms as he compelled her, "You're staying here and you'll make sure that Elena stays inside this house. You'll do it or die trying. Got that?"

Katherine glared at Damon; clearly aware of what he was doing but powerless to refuse, "Yes. Hurry home, sweetie. I'll be waiting."

Damon smirked as he patted the top of her head, "I know you will."

He walked towards Elena, pulling her away from Stefan even as she protested, "Elena, I know you're still going to try following us and I'm going to ask you nicely to not do that. Just stay here and patch Stefan up. I need you to do this for me."

"He's my brother, Damon," Elena reasoned, shaking her head, "I have to do something."

Damon closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking at Elena again, holding her gently by the arms, "Let's try this again— I can't save your brother if I'm worried about your safety. Because if it's a choice between saving you and Jeremy, my instincts will be to go to you and believe me, I want to save your brother. I owe both of you that. So please, Elena. Stay here."

Elena nodded quietly, feeling a weight on her heart when his touch left her, when his hands fell away from her. She watched him wrestle with something, hesitate with his next step right before he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Be safe. I need you too."

* * *

Brady stepped out of the trailer, making sure the door behind him was closed securely before walking a few meters away to make a call.

"Hello?" Brady started, his eyes trained on the distance, watching for any kind of movement, "It's done. They're on their way."

"Good," said the voice on the other end of the line.

Brady hesitated before continuing, uncharacteristic for him to show fear when years of being a wolf trained him otherwise, "How sure are you they won't bring the doppelganger? We have her brother…"

"She won't come. Trust me. She'll be at the house as planned…without Damon."

Brady nodded, "But what about the moonstone? We both know it's with Elijah."

"Leave that to me."

"Okay," Brady said, "I'll call you when we're done here."

"Yes, and don't forget—Damon needs to stay alive. Kill everyone else."

"I know," Brady said, "Goodbye, Klaus."


	7. Chapter 7: Masquerade

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 7: Masquerade**

Jeremy drifted in and out of consciousness, drugged and bound, catching fragments of conversations he knew they didn't want him to hear. His vision blurred as he fought to stay alert, his mind protesting every step of the way as he tried to keep his eyes open.

"Jeremy," Tyler said in a harsh whisper, "They're coming. Listen, listen! You have to stay awake. I don't know what it is they gave you but you have to be ready to run when they come and save you. Jeremy! Can you hear me?"

"Tyler…" Jeremy said in a slurred voice, unable to understand what he was being told, "Why…?"

"I don't have time to explain," Tyler hissed, "Jules and Brady will be back soon…I'm going to loosen the rope on your hands, okay? But don't try to escape, you won't be strong enough to fight them and they can't know what I'm doing. Just wait okay? They'll be here soon. Caroline will be here. I know it."

"What?" Jeremy asked trying desperately to process what Tyler was saying but he had already moved away, pretending to look bored as Jules stepped inside the room followed by Brady.

Jules went to Jeremy, lifted his face to look at his eyes, "The drug is wearing off, Brady. You think he can take more?"

"Sure," Brady said as he rummaged in one of the bags by the corner where he kept his weapons, "It doesn't matter anyway. He'll die soon enough with the rest of them."

"What are you talking about?" Jules demanded, suspicious, "That's not what we talked about."

"Do you really think they'll surrender the doppelganger just like that Jules? Are you stupid?" Brady challenged, "The only thing that this kidnapping has accomplished is that we get to kill off whoever is coming, meaning Elena is less protected wherever she is. So Jules, I'd get ready for a fight if I were you."

"Why do we even have to kill anyone?" Tyler interrupted, "If you're right, then Elena is vulnerable right now and we can just go get her…leave Jeremy here for them to find. By the time they get back to town, we'll already have her."

Brady rounded on Tyler, a menacing look on his face as he placed his hands roughly on the younger man's shoulders, "If you're afraid to kill, I'll tear you apart myself. Have you forgotten they murdered your uncle? We'll get to Elena when we get to her…and that's after we murder whoever's coming for her brother."

Tyler clenched his jaw but nodded just the same, watching Jeremy from the corner of his eye, still under the effects of the drug.

"What aren't you telling me?" Jules demanded, "This isn't like you, Brady. Tyler's plan is good. The pack is getting too small as it is and the less risk we take, the better we'll be for it in the long run. What is this about?"

Brady ignored Jules, straightened up and picked up a small syringe off the table, filled with clear liquid, intending to use it on Jeremy but he never made it another step. A loud gunshot rang through the air and he watched as Jules looked down to watch the blood blossoming from the hole in her chest before she crumpled to the floor, dead.

Brady howled in fury as he dropped to the ground, forcing Tyler to do the same before he crawled towards Jules' body, cradling it as angry tears cascaded down his face. For a few seconds, the occupants of the small trailer only listened to the melee the broke out outside. Tyler watched as Brady's eyes darkened, murderous intent clear on his face as he picked up the syringe and stabbed Jeremy in the chest with it. He watched as Jeremy's eyes flew open in shock before slowly closing again, his body becoming slack until he lay completely motionless.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie screamed from the door, "What have you done with him?"

Brady didn't respond but instead reached for a gun tucked underneath his shirt, aiming at Bonnie. But she was faster than him, and within a second, Brady was writhing in pain on the floor.

"Tyler, untie Jeremy now," Bonnie said in an eerily calm voice, "Go, or I forget we're friends and I make you suffer as well."

Tyler hesitated but went to Jeremy as he listened to Brady's orders amidst screams of pain, "Kill him! Tyler, kill the boy!"

"No!" Caroline interrupted, "Tyler, don't you dare hurt him. Please, this isn't who you are."

"What am I then?" Tyler asked her in a tortured voice, "You ask me to stay away then here you are asking me to do things as if our friendship still matters. But the way I see it you're still on the other side. Too much has happened, Caroline. This is who I am now."

"Then you suffer with the rest of your kind," Bonnie said, placing Tyler under her spell, his screams joining Brady's, "Move, Caroline, get Jeremy. Now."

"No! Bonnie!" Caroline said as she watched Tyler curl into a ball, images of when he first turned flashing in her mind.

"Oh what the hell, in case you missed it, I'm already done with the goons outside and Jeremy isn't looking so good. So, I'll make the decision here—kill both of them, chop, chop" Damon said as he walked towards Jeremy and untied him, "Caroline, get to it since you're the only one not busy around here. Or do I have to do everything myself?"

"I won't let you!" Caroline said blocking his way, kneeling over Tyler and taking him into her arms as he convulsed in pain, whispering to him, "Tyler, please, why won't you let me get through to you? They'll kill you. Please. I don't want to watch you die."

"Leave me alone, Caroline," Tyler said through gritted teeth, "Or kill me and get it done with. Save us both from the pain."

Caroline sobbed openly, tightening her hold on him as Bonnie continued to keep him under, "Why are you hurting me?" she whispered to Tyler in a small voice as her arms went all the way around him, as if trying to shield him from the witch.

"Just let me go," Tyler said gasping for air, howling before he continued, "Just let me go, Caroline, let me go."

Caroline felt Damon grip her shoulders, forcing her up, pulling her away from Tyler, "Move. He made his choice, Caroline and he didn't pick you."

"No—" was all Caroline could get out before the side of the trailer exploded, blasting her backwards even as Damon shifted around to shield her. They flew towards the wall with such force that she only had time to glimpse at the young woman standing outside with her hands raised to the heavens. With a half a scream caught in her throat, Caroline gave in to the darkness.

* * *

Elena sat up from her chair in the corner, taking the cup of blood by the nightstand, and went to Stefan's side as he thrashed about in his sleep.

"Stefan?" she said shaking him awake, helping him sit up in bed, "Drink this. It should help."

He nodded, though Elena noted that he seemed disoriented. She understood that though he has been taking human blood, he was still weaker than Damon but his slow recovery was beginning to worry her. Stefan handed her back the cup wordlessly and slipped back down under the covers, immediately closing his eyes.

Elena sighed as she placed the cup down, relieved at least that he seemed peaceful now. She ran a hand on his forehead, as she closed her eyes briefly, trying to control the helplessness that was driving her insane, making her restless and frustrated with the desire to do something to help. The fear was burning through her as she worried over her brother, her friends and Damon. Elena took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as the last name in her mind tied her stomach into knots, almost pushing her over the edge.

She moved away from Stefan, settling back on her chair, feeling guilt over her inability to put Damon out of her mind. Elena watched Stefan in silence, as she tried to ignore how her heart tried to keep from falling apart knowing the danger the other brother was in. Elena placed her face in her hands, concentrating on breathing as her mind ran away from her, speeding towards thoughts of the thousand ways Damon could be killed.

"Elena."

"Damon!" Elena said surprised, standing up and rushing towards him, stopping suddenly when she realized she was about to throw her arms around him, "What happened? Is Jeremy alright? Where is he?"

"He's fine. Resting," he replied briefly, unsmiling as he made his way inside, "No need to worry."

"And the werewolves? Tyler?" Elena asked even if she was afraid to hear the answer.

"How is Stefan?" he asked, ignoring her questions, looking at her as he waited for an answer.

"The same, which worries me, Damon…shouldn't he be better by now?" Elena asked, wrapping her arms around herself as she watched him, relief flooding her when she noted the absence of injuries.

He reached over and pulled back the side of Stefan's shirt, tilting his head as he observed something there that Elena could not see. She moved closer but he had already blocked her view, his blue eyes commanding her attention.

"Did you see something? What was that?" Elena asked trying to move past him to take a look herself.

"Not important right now, Elena," he said shaking his head, "I need you to answer a few questions for me."

Elena stared hard at him, trying to figure him out; unable to place exactly what it was in his voice that made her uneasy. "With everything that's going on, I hardly think now is the time, Damon."

"It has everything to do with what is happening, Elena," he said softly, "Please."

Elena blinked, confusion settling on her even as she nodded for him to continue. She watched him walk towards the window, his eyes unfocused as he looked outside while he spoke.

"If it comes down to it, will you be able to choose who you need to save…who you really can't live without?"

"I…" Elena started, the answer dying on her lips when she realized she didn't know what to say. He smiled when the silence stretched between them.

"Answer this instead, then," he said finally turning to face her, "do you love me?"

Her mouth fell open as the question took her by surprise, her instinctive answer to deny almost forming on her lips. But she snapped her mouth shut and stared back, wondering if he was serious in asking, "Damon…Stefan's right here, in case you've forgotten."

"Don't lie to me," he said, "Just tell me the truth."

"What good will it do, Damon?" Elena asked back, "It won't change anything."

"Maybe, maybe not," he responded, "But I need to hear the words just the same. Do you not believe in the power that truth brings? Yes or no, Elena?"

"I love Stefan," she said firmly and he shook his head at her.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I can give." Elena said insistently, "Damon, please let it go."

"I can't," he said simply, "It's time to lay all the cards on the table, Elena. Will you really be cruel enough to withhold the truth from me knowing we might not all survive whatever is coming? If it really won't change anything, then why can't you just tell me?"

"Yes," Elena whispered, "I love you."

He closed his eyes and drew his mouth into a thin line as he nodded in assent, brushing past her as he walked out, "The first question I asked…don't worry about it. It won't come to that. The choice will be made for you. It was never yours to make anyway."

Elena frowned in response, disturbed by his reaction to her confession and even more so with his parting words. She turned around to call after him only to find he was already gone. But she didn't have time to wonder about their conversation because Katherine's called out to her, uncharacteristically frantic.

"Elena! Get down here!" Katherine yelled.

Thinking that something had happened again, she tore out of the room, running until she found Bonnie, who was tending to an unconscious Jeremy. Katherine was on the other side of the room, forcing a semi-conscious Caroline to drink blood from a bag.

"A little help here?" Damon called out from the front door, followed by fits of coughing and a loud hiss, coupled with a few choice curses as pain lanced through him.

Elena turned towards him slowly, her eyes disbelieving the state he was in, knowing fully well he was perfectly fine just seconds ago.

"Elena, I'm about to keel over and you're just staring at me. Can you please get me a bag of blood because I might pass out on the way to the basement?" Damon said weakly waving a hand in front of her face, which she caught with hers.

Elena stared at the ring, clutching it tightly as her mind recounted the past few minutes, the conversation, and the man she spoke to.

"Oh no. Oh no." Elena said repeatedly, swaying on the spot, both her and Damon wobbling as she continued to hold on tightly to his hand, "This ring…wasn't on you when you were in Stefan's room. You weren't hurt. You asked who I would choose…if I loved you…you asked…No, no, no…."

"What? I can't take this off, Elena. Sun is still shining outside in case you haven't noticed and I just got here. What are you talking about? I never asked you any of those things? I wouldn't' dare and it's not as if I don't know the answer already." Damon said, bewildered as Elena's hands flew to his face, tracing it anxiously until he held them still with his own hands.

"Elena," Damon said steadily, "I have too many broken bones in my body for me to heal without drinking some human blood. I don't have enough energy to figure out the cause of your meltdown. You need to spell it out for me."

Katherine's gasp cut through their conversation, terror clear on her face, and in the blink of an eye she had pulled Elena to face her, "Where did he go? Answer me!"

"He left…I don't know where he went." Elena said with her voice shaking as Katherine let her go, "He just left after I told him…"

"Will someone please fill in the blanks here?" Damon interrupted harshly, "_Who_ went where?"

"Klaus," Katherine answered in a hollow voice, "He was here and he pretended to be you. And Elena fell for it. Hook, line and sinker."


	8. Chapter 8: Dark side of the truth

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 8: Dark side of the truth**

"It's not like you to be so silent, Damon," Stefan said, eyes closed as he lay still on the bed.

Damon shrugged as he pushed himself from the door frame he was leaning against, "And, it's not like you to be such a liar, Stefan."

With visible effort, Stefan opened his eyes and heaved himself to a sitting position on the bed, his face crumpling in pain as he did so. Damon merely watched as he stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed and his jaw set while Stefan took a few seconds to compose himself— a failed attempt at concealing obvious weakness.

"You missed a lot," Damon said casually, "Klaus visited you, in case you didn't realize it. He pretended to be me."

"Did he convince anyone?" Stefan asked, matching his brother's tone, keeping the conversation light as they silently ignored how each word took so much to get out of his throat.

"Elena," Damon answered, his stare piercing through Stefan, "She was taken in completely by his smoldering gaze and missed the lack of wit and overall charm. Tragic. And here I thought the girl knew me inside and out."

"What is Klaus up to?" Stefan said, coughing violently, closing his eyes as he tried to suppress it.

Damon narrowed his eyes as he walked to the side of the bed, shaking his head, "Something diabolical I would think and something we're still trying to figure out. Elena did mention something curious about Klaus' visit though..."

Damon trailed off as he placed a hand on Stefan's shoulder and pressed down hard, forcing his brother to scream in pain. Damon lifted his hand and glanced at the stain of blood on it, matching the red streaks on Stefan's shirt.

"Did you know that was there?" Damon asked evenly, his eyes still trained on his hand.

"Yes." Stefan said still wincing, his hand gingerly touching the area that was injured.

Damon closed his eyes and counted to ten, while he alternately swore and breathed out the air he held in his lungs. He turned again to look Stefan directly in the eyes, shaking his head as he spoke, "Do you know what this means?"

Stefan nodded, watching Damon's lips press into a thin line, evidently furious at the confirmation, "Well it's not the full moon and whoever did this wasn't in wolf form…"

"It's not enough, Damon, the damage is done," Stefan said quietly, "Otherwise I would be better."

Damon suddenly laughed, humorless and hollow, "Have you told her?"

"Elena?" Stefan replied, "When the time is right, I will."

"And when exactly is that, Stefan?" Damon spat out angrily, "When you're running around, delirious and halfway to the madhouse? Will you do it when you can't recognize her and what she is to you? Will you tell her 'By the way, I was bitten by a rabid werewolf. Okay? Thanks!' then start chasing her around wanting to feed on her? Are you sure you're not yet insane, Stefan?"

"It's my call, Damon, not yours." Stefan said resolutely, closing his eyes and slipping back down on the bed, fists clenched on his sides as he tried to control his body from shaking from the spasms of pain.

"Fine, it's your impending doom and your story to tell." Damon said as he turned to leave, "But just so you know, there's never a right time to tell someone you love that you're dying. There isn't a perfect moment that you'll find in this world when it won't hurt. Waiting is just as bad as lying in this case, Stefan."

Damon closed the door behind him quietly. He stared straight ahead as he held out a hand to the girl sitting on the floor, silently shaking against the wall by his feet. Damon pulled up Elena and folded into his arms, letting her sobs be silenced against his chest. Damon clenched his jaw, his own vision swimming with unshed tears as he held her tight, willing her pain to be his with every heartbreaking breath she took.

In silence they let their anguish wash over them, holding on to each other as if it was the only thing that kept them from drowning in the pain. Elena kept breathing, even if each one felt like a sharp reminder in her chest that each second meant Stefan was a step closer to being gone forever. Damon felt her grief and let it mix into his own sense of emptiness, despair and denial.

An endless moment passed before Damon pulled back from Elena, his hands on her face as his eyes searched for answers in her tears. His face hardened as Elena shook her head, defeat, loss and confusion in every expression that flitted on her features. He led her away, quietly down the stairs, stopping only when they reached the last step and guiding her to sit down.

Minutes passed before Elena spoke, breaking the ice, "Will it be like it was with Rose?" she asked like a child, completely vulnerable as she said the words.

Damon closed his eyes briefly as another wave of agony passed, "Yes, no, maybe. I honestly don't know, Elena. Likely that it's less potent given the circumstances and well his state now seems to confirm that but…"

"…but he's still dying." Elena finished for him bluntly, staring into the distance, her eyes vacant as if she wasn't there, lost already to the truth that awaited them.

Damon reached out and placed an arm on her shoulder, pulling her closer and letting her lean on him. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, "For now, yes. I won't lie to you. Right now, Stefan is dying…but I'll save the day. Don't worry. You're not losing him. Not like this."

"How?" Elena asked, completely void of emotion, "By risking your life and doing something stupid?"

"I'm touched. You know me so well," Damon said placing a hand over his heart, mocking her, letting his mask of indifference slide over his face.

"You're not that complex to figure out, Damon," Elena said, half-heartedly bantering, working only on autopilot.

Damon gave her a small laugh, lined with bitterness and heartache. He started to stand up but Elena's arms went around him, anchoring him to her.

"Don't," Elena said softly, "Whatever it is you're thinking of doing—don't do it. Please. Just stay here. Just…_please_….Damon."

Damon didn't reply and instead tried to soothe her, waiting for her to calm down before he tried to leave her again.

"Klaus..." Elena started, hesitating if she should continue, "when he was pretending to be you, he asked me, who I would choose to save between you and Stefan."

"Stefan, _obviously, _anyone in Mystic Falls could have answered that question for you. He didn't need to come here for that." Damon said rolling his eyes.

Elena hit him softly on the chest, "I actually chose _you_, remember? I went after you when the two of you got kidnapped or have you forgotten that? I let Bonnie and everyone else get Stefan and I went to you. Anyway, that's not the point. I didn't answer him so he asked me something else."

"The suspense is too much. Be still, my_ un_beating heart." Damon said deadpan, "Tell me please, Elena, what was question number two?"

"He asked me if I loved you," Elena whispered, feeling Damon tense beside her, hearing his sharp intake of breath, "if I _love_ you."

"Stefan is upstairs fighting for his life, Elena," Damon said after a moment, in a hollow voice, losing sarcasm and any edge there was in it just seconds before, "I should feel guilty that I want to know the answer so badly but I don't. Because somehow there's only this moment and you…and whatever it is you still have to say."

Elena held her palm open to catch the tears that once more fell freely from her eyes, watching them pool together in her hand, "It's tearing me apart, Damon. I feel like being here, needing you like this and finding that having you hold me is enough to keep me afloat…I feel like I'm betraying Stefan. But at the same time, I'm so scared to let you go because I know you're going to run out of here and you might not come back because I know you'll die trying to save your brother. And I can't lose you. I want to be selfish and keep you."

"But you won't be." Damon said, a corner of his mouth tugged upwards as he slowly extricated himself from her, "You're going to let me walk away. You're going to worry and maybe blame yourself—I'm telling you though, don't do that. None of this is your fault. And then I'll come back with some miracle cure and we'll go back to figuring out breaking all the curses and all the doppelganger mess. I'll be the black knight who gives you back your white knight. Sound like a plan to you?"

"I love you." Elena said with a sigh and a small, almost apologetic, smile on her face, "I told Klaus before I even got to tell you."

Damon blinked, surprised as he tilted his head to look at her carefully, "_Not_ the answer to my 'sound Iike a plan question'. Just need a yes or no, Elena. Want to try again?"

Elena lifted her shoulders and gave him a forced smile, unable to form words, finding it to difficult to speak.

Damon reached out and traced the side of her face with the back of his hand, "We're impossible, you know that right? And those words just make every single day after this one hurt a bit more because no matter how true, it's never going to be enough. But just the same, I'll say it. I love you, Elena."

Elena closed her eyes as Damon enveloped her in his arms, letting her cry as he held her steadily. He waited until her sobs quieted down and there was nothing left but the problems that hung over them.

"What's with the hallmark moment?" Katherine said, stepping out of the shadows, her eyes bright with curiosity and malice.

Damon rolled his eyes and stood, pulling Elena up as well, "Cut the crap. We don't have time for verbal sparring today because in case you hadn't noticed, the supposed love of your life is _dying_."

Katherine looked shocked, automatically taking a step back as if she were pushed, "_What?_"

"Did you think he was playing sick so you could nurse him back to health? Newsflash, Katherine, he's a vampire and even on animal blood he shouldn't still be in that bed, too tired to even open his eyes." Damon hissed.

"Wolf bite," Katherine said suddenly, "I pulled the pup off him. I thought the skin wasn't broken."

"You thought wrong, _obviously_," Damon said, "Another kink in your diabolical plan, something I think you don't have a plan B for."

"There is no cure." Katherine said bluntly, "Don't waste your energy looking for one."

Damon raised his eyebrows at her, "Not desperate to save Stefan, are we? As curious as I am as to why you're not devastated by the news and why you're not jumping on the 'let's find a way to save Stefan' bandwagon, I'm going to leave you to your lies so I can go out there and _waste_ my energy on finding a cure."

Katherine pursed her lips, resisting the urge to snap at Damon, "Get the witch, Elena. She can't cure him but a spell my help stall the spread of the poison and buy us some time. Go! And as for you, stay _here_."

"And where do you think you're going?" Damon asked glaring at Katherine.

"The only thing you need to concern yourself with is making sure Klaus doesn't get anywhere near Elena again or its game over for all of us." Katherine replied icily.

Damon blocked her path before she could take another step, "Where are you going, Katherine?"

"Elijah." Katherine answered sharply, "If there's a cure to this, the Originals should know."

"He will kill you on sight, Katherine," Damon said

"Awww, concerned about me, Damon?" Katherine purred, tapping his cheek with her fingers, "I didn't know you still cared."

Damon grabbed her wrist and flung it away, "I don't. I'm thinking you're going to end up striking a bargain with him to save your skin and to get that answer. My guess is that you're going to screw us all over and I'm not letting you walk out that door to do just that."

"And here I thought you'd pay any price to save your brother. Was that whole speech for Elena just for show?" Katherine said smirking at him, "Secretly hoping he'll die so Elena will go running into your waiting arms?"

With that Damon slammed her against the wall, making a dent around Katherine's body, "I'm not _you_, Katherine. I don't lie to the people I love. I don't manipulate them. I don't play games, Katherine, not when it comes to Elena. Never."

Katherine looked defiantly at Damon, unable to answer as he continued to crush her throat, holding her against the wall until the doorbell rang, surprising them both.

"Oh, I'll get that!" Caroline called out, rushing through the hallway, "It must be the pizza!"

Caroline walked on, frowning only a second at Damon and Katherine before moving on to open the door, flinging it wide and turning her head left to right, looking for the delivery guy.

"Where is he?" Caroline muttered under her breath, bills still in her hand. She took a step forward to find resistance, "Oh," she said looking down and gasped loudly, prompting Damon to go to her.

"What now? Wrong toppings? Anchovies instead of pepperoni?" Damon rattled off, stopping abruptly when he saw what Caroline was staring at with abject horror on her face.

Elijah. Dead. He was on the floor, with a knife sticking out of his chest and the moonstone on top holding down a note.

_Elena—_

_I have no use for Elijah or the moonstone. They are now yours to dispose or use as you see fit. I would not pull out the dagger if you wish him to remain dead. Consider this a token of my appreciation for the answer you gave me. It was most enlightening. _

_My son has chosen well. I am almost sorry to know it is hopeless for you two. Almost._

_Klaus_


	9. Chapter 9: Fall apart and into place

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**Chapter 9: Fall apart and into place**

Damon raised the moonstone against the window, letting the sunlight filter through it. "It looks like a bar of soap or a really plain paperweight. Are we really sure this is the key to the sun and moon curse or to anything at all?" he said flipping it in his hand.

Bonnie swiped it from him, glaring as she set it down gently on the table in front of her, "Just because it doesn't sparkle, it doesn't mean it's not important."

"Granted," Damon said nodding, making a show of picking up the moonstone and tossing it from one hand to the other as if gauging its weight, "_but_ I think the telltale sign of its value is that Klaus gave it up, just like that. Question is what makes him think this is worthless or rather what does he have that makes it dispensable?"

"Nothing," Bonnie said, "he just might be bluffing. To undo a curse you need the original ingredients and basically the equivalent spell. To attempt breaking the curse without the moonstone, Klaus would need the power of a hundred witches at his disposal and even then I don't think he can do it."

"There's your answer," Katherine said in a monotonous voice, her face carefully blank as she sat down in front of Damon, "the power of a hundred witches."

"Is there a convention of witches we don't know about?" Damon said narrowing his eyes at Katherine, "I think we'd notice if there was an influx of that many strangers in this town. Mystic Grill won't be able to hold them all."

"I didn't say Klaus needed a hundred witches," Katherine said impatiently, "He only needs their _power."_

Bonnie's head snapped up in surprise, everything clicking in her mind rapidly as she paced, trying to process everything, repeating the name 'Emily' over and over.

Damon grabbed Bonnie by the arms to keep her in place, staring her down, "Use words, Bonnie. I have a dying brother, a psychotic killer for a father and…and then there's Elena. We don't have time for you to have a moment. Just tell me what's in your head. "

"Emily," Bonnie started, "she's been dead right? But she was able to cast that spell to make the crystal shatter—the one that should have opened the tomb. She's _dead_, Damon, but her power is not."

"Because her death wasn't natural or just," Katherine said evenly, "and she left behind a trail of evil she had to set right, anchoring part of her here, more specifically where her blood was spilled."

"It's a place then, not an object that he's going to substitute?" Bonnie asked

Katherine nodded, "And a witch to channel that power…well, maybe more since that's a whole lot more power we're talking about."

"Say a family of them?" Damon said darkly, "As in the father and son tandem that came happily into town with Elijah?"

"And Luka's sister," Bonnie said quietly, "Klaus has her…and they were trying to rescue her by helping Elijah kill Klaus."

"So where are they going to hold this witchy reunion with the murdered ones?" Damon asked.

"Fell's Church," Alaric interrupted as he walked into the room.

"What?" Damon asked incredulously, "That place _again?_ Enlighten us, oh history teacher, how can that be what we're looking for? I was alive when this town was founded and the only massacre there was fake, never even happened—exhibit A: Ms. Katherine Pierce."

"Just because it wasn't 'founded', that doesn't mean it didn't have any history before that. It doesn't make things less real, it doesn't mean it never happened," Alaric pointed out, sighing heavily before continuing, "They say that land was cursed. If you think about it, it makes sense considering everything that happened there since. The other thing you need to know is that the witch burnings, Salem and other clichés live on but well, the worst of what happened to witches never made it to popular history…because they hid the truth themselves. They hid it well. It wasn't a massacre…it was a mass suicide."

"But…why would they do such a thing?" Bonnie said horrified.

Alaric merely shrugged. "Isobel never got that far," he said, "Damon came along before she finished her work on Mystic Falls."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Pick on me later because right now we need to find Klaus, figure out his plan, save Stefan and crown me king of the world—in that order. Marching orders—Katherine, find Isobel. Alaric, wipe the anxiety off your face and try to find some enthusiasm for when you see your ex-wife, while you're at it go and look for the wolves. Bonnie, figure out the spell to break the curse on the doppelganger line, to reverse this whole damn mess by sacrificing Klaus instead."

"And what are you going to do, fearless leader?" Katherine said glaring at him but standing up to leave just the same.

"Glad you asked," Damon said mockingly, "I'm going to do everyone a favor, yes including you, and save Stefan. He's not dying on my watch."

"That's not in your hands," Katherine said, rising to face Damon squarely, "Even_ I_ know when to give up on a losing battle."

"Lucky I'm not you then," Damon said staring her down, "Go, Katherine. Find Isobel or you'll never be human again."

Katherine gave Damon a final look of contempt before vanishing in a split second. Alaric shrugged before he walked out, "Well, I guess that's my cue to go as well, although I have to apologize for the lack of flair in my exit."

Damon shook his head and sank down into the couch, "Bonnie, don't you have to fly off on a broom or a vacuum cleaner? Go away."

"This is how you're going to save Stefan—by moping?" Bonnie said furiously.

"It's either this or running around aimlessly. I'm still _thinking_, Bonnie." Damon said, "Or would you rather I just try poke Stefan randomly and see if that works?"

"I don't trust you to save Stefan." Bonnie said bluntly

"Fall in line. You're starting to sound a lot like Katherine," Damon said, raising his eyebrows at her, "What makes you think I'll let him die?"

"He's in your way, Damon," Bonnie answered, "He's keeping Elena from being with you."

Damon laughed bitterly, "I'm standing in my own way, Bonnie. I have to otherwise I'd suck her into a destructive relationship and destroy both of us. If love is the only consideration, Stefan wouldn't be able to come between us even if he tried."

"So after everything is said and done, you'll stay away, leave town and everything," Bonnie challenged.

"No," Damon answered with a sigh, "I'm still a very selfish creature and partly a masochist, so I'm staying where I can watch their long, blissful life together from the sidelines."

"Then you don't really love her," Bonnie said, "Seeing you everyday will just torture her."

"Because she knows it hurts me to watch them all cute and cuddly?" Damon asked blithely.

"No," Bonnie said, "because she can't have the one she was meant to be with, the one she loves, for fear of hurting someone who doesn't deserve that pain."

Damon's eyes widened in shock but he remained silent as he watched Bonnie take a deep breath.

"Shocked?" Bonnie asked humorlessly, "You're not the only one. Look, I've known Elena all my life and she's so used to doing what's expected of her that it took so much for her to leave Matt, even after she realized there was nothing more there than friendship. And with Stefan, everything he's done for her, pulling her out of that dark place when her parents died….Elena, won't leave him when he needs her the most or ever, not even for her own happiness. As much as I hate to admit it, as her friend, I know she loves you. But because I'm her friend, I'm going to have to ask you to stay away because, Damon, you're just no good for her. She deserves better."

"Sorry but I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be with her, even if it's to hell and back or even if she pushes me away herself. She might never be mine but she will always need me." Damon said steadily.

"You're right," Bonnie said as she turned to leave, "You are selfish."

* * *

Tyler blinked tiredly, his hand flying to his head trying to stop the throbbing and the sharp pains that came with it. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to his surroundings, taking in the details of the room he was in. It was simple, clean and barely furnished, bearing every sense that it wasn't a home, merely a place for temporary shelter.

"You're awake. Good," said a familiar voice from behind him.

Tyler whipped around in surprise, "Damon?"

"Not quite but the resemblance is uncanny that I can forgive your mistake." Klaus said calmly, "I trust you are well-rested and almost fully healed by now."

"I…." Tyler said confusedly, "Who are you? If you're not Damon, then who…?"

"I am Klaus," he said in response, as if it were sufficient explanation for everything.

"Okay…" Tyler said knitting his eyebrows, "That doesn't really say much."

"Aren't you supposed to be asking 'where am I' or 'what am I doing here,' maybe even 'what do you want with me'? But here you are concerned with _me. Why?"_ Klaus asked with genuine curiosity.

"He's a pup, Klaus," Brady said from the corner of the room, watching the exchange with interest, "It's the shock talking. Don't mind him."

Klaus turned slowly towards Brady, "Still the same weakness with you Brady. Your arrogance will lead you to your death if you insist on underestimating players. This '_pup'_ you have here is the last surviving wolf of the Lockwood clan. He's practically royalty, Brady, show some respect."

"He doesn't even know our way of life, what it means to be one of _us_," Brady spat out angrily.

"Neither do you, if I may be so kind to remind you," Klaus said, "You're here in my service, my command and yet your loyalty should be to your kind. Power corrupts just nicely, doesn't it?"

"Look, can you just answer my question?" Tyler demanded, trying to stand up, feeling his knees give way slightly as he did.

"Damon is my son." Klaus said matter-of-factly.

"But you're a vampire, aren't you?" Tyler asked, "How can you have a kid?"

"The 'how' is not important, Tyler, it rarely ever is. What you must always strive to understand is the 'why' of things. Damon is…my son is the defining element of what we are working towards. His existence is part of a grander scheme, as is Elena," Klaus said, his eyes staring far away in the distance as he went on "Katerina, oh my dear gullible one, you thought this was all your doing but it never was in your hands."

"Enough," said a low female voice, "There is work to be done. We do not have time for this."

"Ah, Greta," Klaus said smiling, an evil glint briefly flashing in his eyes, "I see you are still alone. Where is the rest of your family? Jonas and Luka? With Elijah out of commission, surely you can now be reunited with him?"

Greta narrowed her eyes, as she hissed out an answer, "I cannot find them."

Klaus shook his head as he approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "What a shame for as you said, time is running out, dear Greta," he said. With a deep breath, Klaus' hand moved so quickly that in a flash he had already lifted Greta by the neck, "Show a little respect. I wouldn't think twice about killing you. I can wait another generation, another doppelganger, to see this through. Maybe your descendants will not be so uncouth."

"She is the last one, Klaus," Greta said with a vicious sneer, "As is the wolf and the witch. We both know that. And your son…"

A loud crack resonated in the room when Klaus struck Greta clean on the face. "_Silence_." Klaus said in a menacingly calm voice.

Klaus released her, letting her fall to the ground in a heap as she clutched her face, rubbing it gingerly. "Come Tyler," he called out, "Tell me about this Caroline of yours. I'm very interested in her connection with you."

* * *

"What are you doing here, Damon?" Elena asked surprised to find him sitting in the corner of the dungeon-like room where they kept Elijah's body.

"Probably the same thing you are," Damon said stonily, staring straight ahead even as she slid down to sit next to him.

Elena sighed and watched Damon from the corner of her eye, "Do you still remember when we stayed down here for hours, when we kept Stefan locked up?"

"How can I forget," Damon said void of emotion, "It was the _quietest_ night of my life. Nary a word from you, rather I received resounding silence."

"I never told you," Elena said ignoring his sarcasm, "how much I wanted to go back to that moment…how much I still want to."

Elena took a deep breath and continued, "I was tempted by this image, this dream, that Stefan was the bad brother…that he turned completely evil that I felt no guilt giving him up. And you…"

"And I became the goody two shoes with a penchant for tight-fitting hoodies—what a disturbing mental image." Damon said dryly.

"No, you're still you…just the way you are. Even in dreams, I couldn't imagine you differently. You're that _real_ to me." Elena said softly.

"Oh don't go there, Elena," Damon groaned, "What is it with you and self-inflicted pain? Is it the suicidal tendency acting up again?"

"No!" Elena burst out, "It's not that…I just…I don't…I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

Damon placed a hand on top of hers, silencing her, "You're saying we had our moments. They made no sense but they were comfortable and they felt—"

"—right." Elena finished for him, twining her fingers through his, "You keep saying you don't deserve me or that we're not meant for each other but everything else says how perfectly we fit together."

Damon watched their hands touch, palm to palm, every crevice matched and filled completely, "Like how the dagger fits perfectly in Elijah's heart? The one we came here to pull out?"

"Yes." Elena answered, "We need to pull it out. We need answers. It's the right thing to do. We need to save Stefan."

Damon let his fingers fall away from hers, "So let me go, Elena. Pull away from me."

Elena squeezed his hand tight, closing her eyes briefly as she did, before letting go. "At least we had that night."

Damon gave her a pained smile, "Come on, I'd say Atlanta rated much higher than that if we could wish to turn back time. If only I could see you smile that way again. Now, come, do the honors, Elena. Pull it out."

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded to Damon and took a step forward. Her hand rested on the hilt as she took a deep breath and pulled, listening intently for the gasp that signaled Elijah had awoken from his slumber.

It never came.


	10. Chapter 10: The history of the truth

**Beautiful madness**

**Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.**

**A/N: longer update this time...since it took so long for me to update :) Hope you enjoy this.  
**

**Chapter 10: The history of the truth**

"Why is he still dead?" Damon said, kicking Elijah's body repeatedly willing it to rise.

"I don't know," Elena said, dagger still in hand, as she circled Damon and Elijah, "The note seemed fairly clear that pulling out the dagger meant Elijah would come back…right?"

"Or maybe there's a hidden camera here and Klaus is laughing his head off watching how gullible we are," Damon said kneeling down to slap Elijah awake, "Should I pour ice cold water on him?"

"Damon, he's a dead vampire not a stubborn person who doesn't want to wake up," Elena said rolling her eyes at him, "I think we should call Bonnie…"

"Nope," Damon answered, straightening up to face her, "She has her own assignment and this is not it. Give me the dagger."

"What will you do with it?" Elena said instinctively pulling the weapon back, her fingers tightening around it.

"I'll put it back in," Damon said calmly, extending his palm to her, "I don't want any surprises. If he's going to wake up, it will be when I'm ready and not with my back turned to him. Give it to me, Elena."

"No!" Elena said stepping back, clutching the dagger tightly, feeling unusually possessive.

Damon's head snapped back in surprise. Frowning he took a step towards her, "Elena, are you feeling suicidal again? I swear if you stab yourself, I will force you to drink my blood before you take your last breath and turn you."

"No! It's not that," Elena said, her eyes darting around as she backed up against the wall still holding onto the dagger, "I…I can't…I can't explain it, Damon. I can't let it go."

"I don't need to understand, Elena," Damon said taking a cautious step towards her, "You don't even have to give it to me…just drop it on the floor and we'll get out of here. How's that?"

Elena closed her eyes, taking a calming breath after another, each one more hurried than the last until she was practically hyperventilating. Damon closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, the cold metal hard against his chest as he whispered to her.

"Shhh, you're okay, I've got you," Damon said over and over until he felt Elena's pulse slow to a normal rhythm and her breathing evened out. "I'm right here. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."

Elena drowned out everything except his voice, trying to find the will to open her hand to let the object in it fall. But she couldn't. There was something about it that kept her from relinquishing her hold. Then she felt the tug, towards Elijah's body. The pull was like a soft command that propelled her to move, insistently calling out to her.

"I think," Elena said as she pulled away from Damon, "I'm supposed to be the one to put it back."

Damon looked at her with raised eyebrows in a silent question, prompting her to continue.

"I can't control it, Damon," Elena said already walking as if in a trance, her voice frantic as if it were protesting the movements of her body, "I don't understand what's happening."

In a flash, Damon was blocking her way, his hands firmly gripping her by shoulders, "Elena, look at me. Focus. Don't let it control you, whatever this is. I need you to fight this, okay?"

Elena nodded numbly even as her body struggled against Damon's hold as he tried to get her out of the room. They only managed to take two steps when Elena suddenly relaxed and her fist fell open, the dagger clattering noisily to the ground as Elijah's eyes flew open and his cold hands wrapped tightly around their ankles.

Damon felt horror wash over him as he heard Elena's earth-shattering scream, haunting him only for a brief moment before he succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

Elena kept her eyes shut, patches of light breaking through as she felt the world spin around her and it took her a few seconds to realize it was because er feet were moving, twirling about on their own volition.

Dancing. Elena realized she was dancing. Involuntarily, her eyes opened and she heard her own laughter, mocking her. She had no control over the body she seemed to inhabit.

Her gaze finally landed on her partner's—startlingly blue and unfailingly familiar.

'_Damon,' _Elena whispered in her mind, hoping she was right yet at the same time knowing how wrong she was.

The man, as if he knew what she was thinking, looked at her with such intensity that she felt the need to look away, but a gentle touch on her chin turned her face back towards him.

"Katerina…" he whispered in a voice that was a contradiction of longing and disapproval.

"Yes," Elena heard herself respond without intending to, as she felt the fear that came with that single syllable. She felt Katerina's growing anxiety blossom in her chest but there was also the flicker of something she couldn't place.

"Why do you resist?" he said with false patience, the hard lines of his jaw clear even in the dim light of the room.

"I do not, Klaus," Elena heard Katerina respond, as she continued to look on from the inside, "I am yours."

Klaus rewarded her with the hint of a smile, the thin line of his lips sharp and even more menacing than bared fangs, "You turn away from me, not from distraction but from fear, when there is no reason to be so. I would never hurt you, my Katerina, I love you."

Elena found herself enveloped in the warm glow of that declaration only to be incensed with anger soon after. Katerina glared at Klaus, courage and fear pulsing in her as she spoke, "Then why do you insist I am not worthy of eternity?"

"Ask anything of me but that." Klaus answered firmly but without losing the vulnerability that was slowly undoing his bravado.

"The moonstone, give it to me," Katerina demanded harshly, expecting that they would be bargaining.

"You will not be safe with it," Klaus said calmly, but his eyes had already begun to darken, "Do not forget, Katerina, you are a doppelganger. With the moonstone in your possession, you only make it easier for others to spill your blood over it. Then where will we be?"

"You do not love me," Katerina said coldly, "You withhold from me the one thing that can change my life. Do not think me a fool, Klaus. I know it is worthless to you and keeping it from me is only a source of entertainment for you."

"What makes you believe it is worthless to me?" Klaus said as he held her in place as the dance continued around them, unaware that they had already slipped into their world.

"You walk in the sun. You ally yourselves with wolves. You don't need the curse broken to do any of that, so why else will you keep it from me if not to keep me from realizing the magic it holds—my eternal existence?" Katerina hissed back.

"Precisely, Katerina, it will merely be an existence. The pain it will cause me to watch you wither and die will be great, and I fear it even now. But it is a far greater comfort to know that you will not be subjected to wander this earth endlessly until it loses meaning and purpose," Klaus said with an unruffled yet murderous demeanor, "It will eat at you, Katerina, that you will do the most unspeakable of acts if only to feel. The emptiness is haunting and it echoes in your mind until you believe that madness is reality. I am the monster that history will someday make me out to be. It is true. It _was_ true…until you pulled me back. I won't let that happen to you. I won't allow you to become a monster."

Elena felt her breath catch, her face softening as she struggled to speak, her voice breaking as she tried, "Then it seems we are at an impasse because I refuse to lose you and you will not love me unless I remain as I am."

"When you die, my love," Klaus said gently, his hands falling away from her, "I will hurt but it will not be the end. I will mourn your loss forever. But if you insist on cursing yourself with an unnatural existence, our love will die with you and I will no longer know you. Even if you continue to exist, you will no longer be the Katerina I fell in love with. The second you breathe your last, you will be my enemy, the murderer of my love."

Darkness filled Elena once more, helplessness and fear clawing at her as a drowning sensation overtook her. But it only took seconds until she felt strong arms holding her, moving her yet again in a dance. Elena opened her eyes to find that she was back to the day of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, dancing with Damon.

"Damon," Elena said, surprised that she was able to speak, disturbing the memory she had of that moment, "What is going on?"

"Well, we're dancing apparently," Damon said, his face still carefully blank, "and barreling through time. At least we're in our own bodies for this one. I did not appreciate being in Klaus' head…although I sympathize with the fool…also taken in by Katherine. Imagine that. He really believed he loved her."

Elena gasped and instinctively stepped closer to Damon, forgetting the distance and formality of the dance, "It wasn't just me."

Damon shook his head, "No, I was there and I'm here now. Hey, Elena, look at me. You look like you're going to vomit. Don't. Dream or whatever this is, this is a very expensive suit. I would like to keep it in good condition."

"She loved him," Elena said slowly, traces of Katerina's emotions still lingering in her mind, "I felt it. She was desperate and afraid that they would be separated. But more than that, Katherine was terrified he didn't really love her."

"She didn't love him," Damon argued, "Obsessed maybe but love? I don't think so. I saw her look at me, well Klaus, I mean. It wasn't love. She just wanted something she knew at one point she wouldn't have anymore. It gave her a thrill but it wasn't real. It was bound to fade."

"No," Elena said forcefully, "I was inside her head, Damon. I could feel every reaction she had to what Klaus was saying. In that moment, I loved Klaus because she did."

"Then she's an incredible liar," Damon said in a low voice, "because she can deceive herself."

"How astute, Damon," Elijah said, walking calmly towards them as the world went still around them, leaving the three of them the only things moving as the rest were held in suspended animation.

"You did this," Damon said pulling Elena behind him protectively, "When you touched us after we pulled the dagger out. What the hell is this?"

"I don't know," Elijah said with a shrug, "The magic was not specific on that but on one thing alone, and that is to show you what weapon you need to prevent the cataclysmic events that will follow."

"Is that weapon killer dance moves?" Damon said with false pep in his voice, "I hardly doubt Klaus warned us not to pull out the dagger for fear that you'll tell us we can save the world with a twirl and a few moves."

"He told you not to pull it out because it would have allowed me to come back to life and he expected I would kill you, which he does not want to happen doting father that he is," Elijah said patiently, "But he did not foresee the warlock having enough wit about him to transform that event into something infinitely more useful in defeating Klaus."

"Which is…?" Damon said tilting this head, prompting Elijah to continue.

"A chance for you to go through my memories, step through those pages and find the truths among the lies you have been fed," Elijah said with a wave of his hands, as if it should have been simply obvious, "Of course, in exchange would be my irreversible death but my hatred for Klaus runs much deeper and this is my sacrifice for the cause."

"What?" Damon exclaimed, "That's completely ridiculous."

"No," Elena countered, stepping to stand beside Damon, "It makes perfect sense."

"Katherine," Elena said, glancing at Elijah for confirmation, proceeding when he nodded, "is our weapon against Klaus. She is his weakness."

"It is true," Elijah confirmed, "Klaus ordered her to be tracked down not because Katerina stole the moonstone, but because he knew what she would do with it. Pressed for time and fearing that Klaus will catch her before she could do something. She deceived Rose and Trevor so that somehow she could turn herself. Katerina didn't become useless to Klaus as a doppelganger, he saw her as something more than that. His anger stemmed from betrayal and he seeks revenge for a broken heart. In a way, Katherine, as you call her, murdered the one woman he ever loved. Klaus never wanted her dead. Those are all Katerina's lies."

"In turn, Katherine hates him because he proved every fear she had—that he would stop loving her…that in the end, it was all a lie," Elena said, a note of sadness in her voice, sympathy flooding her where anger was supposed to be for the people who put them in this situation, "And Damon…the fact that he's here means Klaus was with another woman, that somehow he forgot her…"

"Elaborate how this relates to the problem at hand because," Damon said edgily, "I'm failing to see how all _this_ will help us solve this conundrum and save everyone."

"That is your problem, Damon," Elijah answered, "You are trying to save everyone. You cannot. Accept that so you can start to make the choices that will define how this will end. Ask yourself, Damon, do you really love Elena?"

"Yes." Damon said without missing a beat.

"Then you have to accept that sacrifices will need to be made, in the name of that love." Elijah said, "Answer this then, whose death will you be able to live with?"

Everything faded around them once more, a roaring sound filling their ears until it was almost painful. And then as quickly as the chaos came, silence took its place and with a gasp, as if breaking the surface after being underwater for so long, Elena opened her eyes and found she was back in the basement, secure in Damon's arm.

"So I take it, she lied, just like every other time," Damon said.

Elena nodded but kept silent, her breathing still erratic, partly from the insanity they just went through but mostly out of fear.

"Katherine will sacrifice me, not Klaus. She just wants him to watch as she gains immortality using my blood." Damon said steadily, "And we're going to let her."

* * *

_Katherine looked out the window, a benign smile playing on her lips as she watched the clouds glide across the sky._

_She smoothed her skirt as she went over her plan once more in silence, reminding herself to remain composed when she faced Damon, the son of the man who broke her, the very proof that he had lied to her._

_Katherine closed her eyes, forcing herself to maintain a semblance of serenity so as not to begin on the wrong foot. She focused on the rattling of her carriage, the uneven road and even the breathing of her maid, Emily._

"_Ms. Katherine," Emily said, as if on cue, "we are nearly there."_

"_Hmm," Katherine murmured noncommittally, "Do you know of the sun and moon curse?"_

_Emily shook her head and Katherine continued, "A man I met, long ago, back when I was human, inadvertently told me of it, and how to break it…as he toyed with the idea himself for lack of anything to do. It's all about blood, you see, Emily. More than the magic, the spell or whatever else ingredient there is, it all comes back to the blood. My blood and his, to be exact, and well, I suppose one of the lycanthropes. A witch will summon the power, through this moonstone, and drain the sacrifice of blood, then purify it using the magic. Whosoever drinks that blood, will be freed from the curse. Should the wolf drink the blood of the doppelganger and the vampire, he shall be free from the moon. Should the vampire drink the blood of the wolf and the woman, he shall bask in the sunlight without fear. And should the doppelganger be spared, the blood will repay the debt once taken from her lineage—a life, an immortal life."_

"_Is that why we are here?" Emily asked_

_Katherine nodded, "Yes. Mystic Falls is an interesting place. It brings together a most unusual sort of people and magic."_

"_Ms. Katherine," Emily said hesitantly, "Why would this man tell you such a thing? Did he not intend to sacrifice you?"_

"_No," Katherine answered languidly, "He meant to undo the makings of the curse, destroy it in a way that none could benefit from it so that I would never be in danger of being sacrificed."_

"_Is that not good then? Saving you?" Emily asked curiously_

_Katherine faced Emily, "Not when it broke my heart in the process. I meant to use it so we could spend eternity together and he wanted to keep me from it. And when I found another way, one that does not involve that curse, he shunned me."_

"_But then what use is there for you to break it now?"_

_A smile tugged on the corners of Katherine's mouth, teasing and devious, "There is always use for power, Emily. One need only know how to understand it, bend it and wield it. Immortality requires invincibility, and that my dear Emily is the most important thing of all."_

"_Does it also heal a broken heart out for revenge?" Emily said softly, reading between the lines._

_Katherine's eyes blazed with anger but she held her tongue and looked sharply away, "We're here."_

_She stepped out of the carriage, schooling her features to look coy and every bit a lady, prepared to play a part. Katherine prepared herself to meet the man she will use to make Klaus pay, his own son._

_But well-laid plans had a way of unraveling before the unexpected. And as Katherine lifted her head to look at her host, she knew that something inside had come undone. She looked into those shining, kind, green eyes and she knew that Stefan Salvatore had changed everything._

* * *

Katherine shook the memory out of her head, focusing on what was right before her and the ache that gnawed at her ever since she found out Stefan was dying.

"I have a heart you know," Katherine said as she sat by Stefan's bedside, watching him sleep, "Impossible as that may be to believe, I do love you."

"I'm immune to your lies, Katherine," Stefan said hoarsely, unmoving with his eyes still tightly shut.

"I don't need you to believe me." Katherine answered. With a sigh she continued, "You really are dying, aren't you?"

Stefan lay completely still, and the only sign that he even heard her was the tiniest of nods, followed by a wince and a suppressed groan.

Uncharacteristically hesitant, Katherine reached out and smoothed the lines on his face, relaxing when he did not push her away. She traced a line along the side of his face, watching Stefan slowly relax as the pain subsided. Her fingers stopped when she reached where the lethal bite hidden under his shirt.

"This is the first time I've wished I never turned you," Katherine continued, pulling back and settling once again in her seat, "It would have been easier to bear…to watch you die as a human, than like this."

"What difference does it make?" Stefan asked, finally opening his eyes, watching her carefully as she searched for the words to answer him.

"Because this is my fault," Katherine said with a bitter laugh, "If I had left you alone, nature would have had its way and I will only mourn your inevitable loss. But this…all of this is on _me_. You're going through all this pain because I made you vulnerable to a werewolf bite and whatever weakness that comes with being a vampire. I did this. And if I could…I'd take it all back."

"Too little, too late," Stefan said staring at her, forcing her to meet his eyes, "But it isn't your fault. You think too highly of yourself. Life isn't all about you, Katherine."

"Maybe not but undeniably things always come back to me and to you… to _us_." Katherine said meeting his gaze head on until Stefan looked away.

"There is no _us_," Stefan countered, "There never was because everything was a lie."

"Lies always come from truth, Stefan. You know that. Even the world's biggest lies started from a shred of honesty." Katherine argued.

Stefan closed his eyes and didn't respond. For a few minutes, silence reigned until Katherine stood up, looking down on him with a lifetime of regret in her eyes.

"Tell her, Stefan," Katherine said softly, "Don't be selfish like me."

"It will be real when I tell Elena," Stefan said, his voice lined with hurt, "It won't be a nightmare I'll wake up from. I will die, she will move on and I'll be nothing but a memory."

Katherine's mouth turned up at the corners, "You sound like Damon. You'd rather pain and lies if it means being able to keep Elena around for a moment longer."

"I wish I were Damon," Stefan said with a small smile, "If only for a second, I want to know what it's like to be the one Elena really loves."

Katherine tilted her head, her face set in a frown. "You know." Katherine said—a statement rather than a question.

"Unlike you, Elena is a horrible liar. I've known for a while now," Stefan said quietly. "You don't forgive someone over and over for unspeakable things if you don't love that person. Damon has done so many unredeemable things and yet she can't cut him out of her life," Stefan pointed out, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I was there for her. I saved her from the accident that killed her parents and from losing herself in the grief. I kept saving her but I wasn't the one who reminded her there was more to life than staying away from danger. Damon…he pushed her to feel things, to hate, to let go and be passionate, be pushed to the limit…to truly _live_. I may have kept her from dying a hundred times but my brother is the one who makes her feel alive."

Stefan closed his eyes again, defeated, "Death isn't the only inevitable thing. Losing Elena…it was always only a matter of time."

"We put broken hearts to shame," Katherine said shaking her head, "Just among the four of us, we've managed to make a truly happy ending impossible. But I'll take any kind of ending where you are alive."

Stefan didn't respond, surrendering to dreamless sleep. Katherine looked back one last time before she left, "I'll be back, Stefan. Wait for me."

* * *

Stefan tossed around in bed fitfully, rebelling against the pain that was tearing through him. Even sleep was not enough to numb him and he was helpless against it. He heard arguing, Damon and Elena, and the words grated against his ears, intensifying the agony. He made out a few sentences—something about Katherine, how Elena refused to let Damon go through with his plan, he could be wrong about the gift of immortality, it might just be for the Petrova line…and how there should be another way to save Stefan.

With the mention of his name, Stefan screamed until he was sitting upright, oblivious to the hands that tried to wrap around him, attempting to comfort him. He was blinded by the white hot pain that made him want to sever his limbs if it would ease the pressure. He couldn't see anything and the one face he recognized was the one he hated—Katherine.

Adrenaline surged through him and he flung her away, barely registering the loud crash that followed it and just feeling the one second of triumph that it brought relief to him.

"Elena!" Damon shouted, running towards her, "Are you okay?"

Elena nodded, trying to get up, holding onto Damon as she did, "It's the dementia, Damon. He doesn't know what's happening anymore."

In a blur of movements, Stefan rushed towards her, wanting to silence her completely but Damon was faster and blocked him, holding him by the neck, practically crushing his windpipe.

"Get a grip, Stefan," Damon said through gritted teeth, "Elena, get out of here. NOW."

"I can't…" Elena said.

"You can't help by being here. It's obviously agitating him to see you or just hear you. Go. Now. I'll deal with this. We'll finish talking later." Damon said forcefully, not taking his eyes off Stefan, who continued to struggle against him.

"Let me go!" Stefan rasped out.

"Not until I see you behave," Damon said backing up as he held his brother, locking the door after Elena ran out, "I never thought I'd see the day I'd be the one protecting Elena from you. But here we are, Stefan. Snap out of it."

"No, Katherine must die. This…all this is her doing. She lied to us, Damon. She manipulated us," Stefan growled.

"I agree with you wholeheartedly on all those points but that was, Elena, Stefan," Damon said calmly, "I don't know where the hell Katherine is and right now, I don't care."

Stefan's eyes widened in horror, reality crashing on him hard and fast. Damon saw the change and let him go, but still keeping a wary eye on him and the door.

"I can't…I didn't mean to…Elena…" Stefan muttered, "I need to apologize…but I can't be near her…I can't…"

"Okay, slow down cowboy," Damon said leading his brother to the bed, forcing him to sit down, "It's not your fault. I'm pretty sure she understands that. The best thing you can do for her now is to keep trying to fight this and stay alive long enough for us to figure out what to do. Can you do that?"

Stefan nodded mutely, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the side of the bed, "Please, I need to be alone."

Damon took a long hard took at him before standing up and walking out silently. Stefan sat completely still for a long time, replaying the bits he could remember in his mind, punishing himself by reliving the horror of what he did.

The soft caw of a crow disturbed his peace. The black bird stared at him thoughtfully, unnerving him. Stefan watched as it suddenly flew towards him and away just as quickly, leaving him once more as if it never came. It took a while for him to register the tiny slip of paper in his palm and read what it said.

Stefan crumpled it in his fist and closed his eyes as he made his decision. With a final glance, he took a deep breath and jumped gracefully out his window without a sound.

* * *

"I'm glad you came, Stefan."

"I'm not." Stefan answered, "But I'm desperate and I'm hurting people I care about. I didn't have much of a choice."

Klaus nodded to him, "I am not asking for your loyalty, merely your assistance. In turn, I will save your life. It's fair enough. We do not need to go into the reasons we have for our actions."

"I don't want to be saved…I just don't want to hurt Elena. I just want to save her," Stefan said in a wounded voice, "Nothing else matters."

Klaus smiled, "I can only give you the cure to the bite but everything else is up to you. Need I remind you that there are infinitely more horrible things in this world than death? But if you still choose her life, a word of caution, you may find that to save her, you will need to cause her the greatest pain she has ever known. Are you ready for that?"

"Yes," Stefan said resolutely.

"Really?" Klaus said with mild amusement, "You're willing to kill your own brother and take the love of her life away from her, if it means making sure her heart keeps beating?"

Stefan frowned and hesitated, "It's an impossible choice, Klaus."

"But one you must make," Klaus said with finality, "That is my offer—I cure you and help you save Elena, at the expense of your brother, or you go back, lose your mind and find yourself mad enough to kill her."

Klaus watched Stefan's internal struggle mirrored on his face plain as day, "I need an answer, Stefan. If it helps, think about it, what would Damon do if he were in your place?"

After what seemed like infinity, Stefan looked straight into Klaus' eyes and nodded.

"Okay, you have a deal."


End file.
